The pancreas is an organ roughly the shape and size of a medium carrot that lies deep in the upper abdomen. It has two major roles:
Pancreatoduodenectomy is performed for cancers of the head of the pancreas, distal bile duct or ampulla and some duodenal cancers. The operation is also performed for some pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours and cysts of the pancreas that are at high risk of developing into cancer.
Pancreatoduodenectomy is a major operation that involves removal of the head and uncinate of the pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder and duodenum. After removal, the upper cut end of the bile duct, the cut end of the pancreas and the stomach or short remaining segment of the duodenum are joined (anastomosed) to the bowel.
Complications of pancreatoduodenectomy include:
Other risks include general risks of major surgery such as blood clots in the legs (deep venous thrombosis) that can travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism), infections and cardiac and respiratory problems.
With modern pancreatic surgery, serious life-threatening complications are uncommon although less serious, manageable complications do occur frequently. Your individual risk will be discussed with you prior to surgery.
Most patients stay in hospital about two weeks after pancreatoduodenectomy although it usually takes several months to fully regain strength and energy after surgery. Return to normal stomach function takes some time and patients need to modify their diet, eating smaller more frequent meals. Creon (pancreatic enzyme replacement capsules) usually need to be taken with meals long term to help digest food.
