A Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) is a complex surgery involving several procedures during one operation.
It is often performed to treatpancreatic cancer.
Further recovery after discharge will take six to eight weeks.
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This will help to reduce vomiting after surgery.
Walking helps to speed recovery time, lowers the risk of pneumonia and decreases the chance of blood clots.
Dont expect to have a bowel movement for several days after the surgery.
You will be discharged with a prescription for oral pain meds.
This should begin to resolve as you recover.
Talk to your healthcare provider if your insomnia does not begin to improve in time.
You may go home with the drainage tubes still in place.
Diet
The trauma of pancreatic surgery usually results in a condition calledgastric ileus.
What this means is that food will not travel properly through thegastrointestinal tract.
Due to postoperative gastric ileus, you will not be able to eat for many days after your surgery.
The pancreas secretesinsulinwhich helps to digest carbohydrates and enzymes that help break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
There is no way to gauge exactly when a person will be able to eat after a Whipple procedure.
The stomach will take time to regain its normal functioning.
If you had diarrhea, or indigestion after certain foods, be sure to note that.
During the first eight weeks after discharge, you will be seen very regularly by your healthcare provider.
But, this treatment does not usually start until approximately six to eight weeks after your surgery.
To everyone out there who has been diagnosed with whatever cancer, remember you are not alone.
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nutritional guidelines following a Whipple procedure.
MUSC Health (Medical University of South Carolina).Whipple procedure.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center.What to expect from your surgery and hospital stay.
Help Along the Way.Answers to your Whipple procedure questions.
Pancreatic Cancer UK.Graham’s experience of recovering from a Whipple’s operation
