Your Treatment: Whipple Procedure

Overview

The pancreas is a 6-inch long, pear-shaped gland located deep in the abdomen between the stomach and the spine. The widest part of the pancreas is the head, the middle section is the body, and the thinnest part is the tail.

The pancreas makes insulin and glucagon that help control blood sugar levels. Both hormones help the body use and store the energy it gets from food. The pancreas also makes pancreatic juices that contain enzymes to help digest food. The pancreas releases the juices into a system of ducts leading to the common bile duct, which then empties into the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine.

The digestive juices are produced by exocrine pancreas cells and endocrine pancreas cells produce the hormones. About 95% of pancreatic cancers begin in exocrine cells.

The Whipple Procedure (also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy) is performed to treat pancreatic cancer. It is an extremely extensive operation that removes the head and body of the pancreas, part or all of the stomach, the first and second sections of the small intestine (duodenum and jejunum), surrounding lymph nodes, and the gall bladder and common bile duct.

There are several variations of "the Whipple" currently practiced: