Whipple’s Procedure

An uncommon bacterial illness called Whipple disease often affects your joints and digestive system. Whipple illness disrupts regular digestion by making it difficult for food to be broken down and more difficult for your body to absorb nutrients like fats and carbs. Your brain, heart, and eyes are just a few organs infected by the condition.

Whipple illness can be deadly or seriously debilitating if not properly treated. However, this medical condition can be treated with a proper antibiotic course and Whipple’s procedure.

What is Whipple’s Surgery?

Known as the Whipple procedure after Dr. Allen Whipple, the physician who performed the first updated version of this surgery in 1940. The Whipple technique, also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, is a complex treatment to remove the pancreatic head, the duodenum, the gallbladder, and the bile duct.

Whipple surgery treats cancers and various bile duct, intestinal, and pancreatic conditions. The procedure is most frequently used for pancreatic cancer that has spread to the head of the pancreas. Your surgeon performs the Whipple operation and then rejoins the other organs so that you may resume regular digestion following Surgery. Whipple surgery is a challenging treatment that carries significant risks. However, this procedure frequently saves lives, especially for cancer patients.

What happens before the Surgery?

It’s frequently advised to put on weight before having a Whipple treatment because many people lose a lot afterwards. You can recover from Surgery more quickly if your abdominal wall and hip flexor muscles are strengthened. It’s crucial to pay heed to your surgeon’s advice before your treatment in order to avoid any mishaps. Consult your surgeon about the following:

• Your level of physical activity
• Chronic health conditions like diabetes or allergies
• Any further medical issues
• If you have sleep apnea or a snoring problem
• Any OTC drugs
• Your drinking and smoking habits
• Whether or not you take illicit substances
• If you’ve ever had an anaesthetic reaction before

On the day of Surgery, the doctor will ask you to do the following –

• Wear loose-fitting clothes
• Remove your contacts
• Remove all your jewellery and piercings
• Deodorants, creams, lotions, and other products that could leave residue on your skin should be avoided.

Moreover, your doctor will advise you when to stop eating, drinking, smoking, and ingesting alcohol before your Surgery. You could be instructed to use a certain beverage to help you eliminate waste or to shower with antibacterial soap.

How is Whipple’s Surgery performed at Apollo Hospitals, Karnataka?

The medical team can address any last-minute inquiries in the preoperative area on the day of your operation. After that, you’ll be brought to the operating room, where an intravenous (IV) line will be implanted into your arm. You can also have a spinal injection and local nerve block injections near your belly to lessen discomfort.

Through the IV, doctors will infuse anaesthesia to keep you unconscious. Your bladder will be punctured to place a urinary catheter for urine drainage.

Typically, the procedure takes 5-7 hours to complete. Throughout the process –

• Your abdomen will either receive one large incision from the surgeon or multiple smaller ones (laparoscopic).
• Depending on the procedure being performed, they will remove a portion of your pancreas, duodenum, bile duct, gallbladder, and sometimes even a part of your stomach.
• The small intestines will be reattached to your stomach, and the remaining portion of your pancreas will be connected to them.

The Surgery is usually done in three ways –

Open Surgery

Your surgeon creates a large incision in your belly to access your pancreas during an open operation. It is the most performed and researched surgical procedure.

Laparoscopic Procedure 

2-5 tiny incisions are made in your belly during laparoscopic Surgery, and the surgeon inserts specialised tools, including a camera that sends footage to a monitor in the operating room. While doing the Whipple surgery, the surgeon uses the screen to guide the surgical instruments.

Robotic Surgery

The surgeon operates the robot with hand controls while seated next to a console. A surgical robot can employ instruments in places where human hands would be too big to be useful, such as in confined areas and around corners.

What happens after the Surgery?

The Whipple procedure will take some time to recover after the Surgery. After your Whipple operation, you’ll have pain for some time. Your care team will control your pain while checking for infections or other issues throughout your hospital stay. Before your healthcare professionals determine that you are ready to introduce solid meals, you will be on a liquid diet for a few days.

You should start moving around your room and performing lung exercises (incentive spirometry) as soon as you feel fine. Also, ask a nurse or physical therapist for assistance getting up so you don’t trip and fall. Consult your physician about –

• When should you take your normal medications
• When to stop consuming any food or liquids the night before surgery
• Allergies or adverse drug responses you’ve experienced
• Any prior experience with problems or extreme nausea during anaesthesia

Most patients can go home on the same day from the hospital after the Surgery to continue their healing. Some are advised to stay admitted for a few days for monitoring and follow-up visits. A brief stay in a facility with specialised rehabilitation services may be necessary for older folks and those with serious health issues. If you are worried about recovering at home, talk to your surgeon and the rest of the team.

Four to six weeks following Surgery, most patients can resume their regular routines. The physical health before Surgery and the intricacy of your procedure may affect how long it takes you to recuperate.

Potential Complications that can arise after Whipple’s Surgery

Many people undergoing the Whipple’s procedure might experience the following complications

• Constipation
• Weight Loss
• Infection
• Bowel Changes
• Difficulty Digesting Food
• Bleeding
• Leakage from the organ involved
• Problem with fistulas
• Diabetes

Whipple’s procedure is a complicated surgery that involves cutting-edge technology and a highly experienced medical team that are available at Apollo Hospitals, Karnataka.

Our board-certified surgeons at Apollo Hospitals, Karnataka, perform the Surgery with advanced machinery & equipment to get the highest success rates. The trained and humble medical staff take care of all the patients with optimum care & hospitality. We believe in the well-being of our patients, which contributes to better treatment and excellent recovery.