I am often asked this question so I thought I'd take the time on the 6-month anniversary of my Whipple procedure to explain what it is.
The Whipple
Procedure (aka pancreaticoduodenectomy) is the worst surgery to ever have (even
worse than something we generally consider to be serious like open-heart) and is
most commonly given to people who have pancreatic cancer. Not that long ago, a Whipple procedure had a
very low survival rate because most patientts either died from the procedure itself
or from complications post-surgery. I am so very blessed to not have had pancreatic
cancer and am so thankful that I had a doctor who was able to be proactive which enables me to still here today.
In my case, I had a "Classic Whipple" which
means that I lost a portion of my stomach (5% which includes my pyloric valve), my entire
duodenum (1st 12-18 inches of small intestines; it absorbs most of the
vitamins and nutrients your body needs), my gall bladder (the gall bladder duct
plugs into the duodenum and if they just hooked the gall bladder straight back
to the small intestines, gall stones would develop and it would have to be
removed in 6-12 months anyway), my pancreatic duct (where the pancreas plugs
into the duodenum), and the tip of my pancreas (because it had become hardened
or something like that because I'd been having acute attacks of
pancreatitis but didn't know it). After that, they cut a hole in the pancreas in order to pull the jejunum (the portion of the small intestines after the duodenum) through the pancreas so it can still do its
job. They then hooked up what's left of the small intestines to the remainder
of the stomach so that it can empty as food is digested. And, BAM! there you go...a new life with a whole
new learning curve and with always finding and adjusting to the “new normal” in life because it can change frequently. So, right there, that's at least 6 surgeries plus a lot of other things that have
to do with rerouting blood vessels and all kinds of technical and complicated
little things like that. (The operative report is like SEVEN pages long.)
So, after surgery, you get to spend at least a day in ICU so they can closely monitor you, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm not trying to make light of the situation, but it really is quite complicated so if you want more info and a real education
on the GI system and anatomy, you can check out the following
links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreaticoduodenectomywww.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/tumor/pancreasdiseases/web%20pages/pancreas%20resection/whipple%20operation.htmlwww.pancan.org/section_facing_pancreatic_cancer/learn_about_pan_cancer/treatment/surgery/Whipple_procedure.php
During my recovery from the Whipple, I lost 20lbs in
less than a month...and I didn't have 20lbs to lose to begin with. Thankfully, I never went
below 100 lbs which is the "magic number". Once you go below a 100 lbs, things get even more tricky/complicated. Anyway, I just barely hung and avoided a whole
bunch of new issues.
Every day was a struggle, but I was able to keep my focus
on Christ, and He enable me to get through each moment as it came and has used
it to make me who I am.
I am so thankful that medical
technology has made such great strides in the success rate of a Whipple Procedure. I am also indebted to those Whipple pioneers who did not survive the surgery and to the families that lost their loved ones to the horrendous surgery. They enabled more and more
of us to survive and live longer lives as Whipple Warriors.
