Whipple surgery is a medical procedure most often used for removing the growth of the duodenum or a small portion of the small bowel, fine tube connected to the liver and gallbladder, and the head part of the pancreas. Whipple surgery is used to treat chronic pancreatitis or any form of abnormalities in the pancreatic duct.
Whipple surgery procedure
The whipple surgery consists of removing the part of the bile duct, eliminating the head of the pancreas and the lower part of the stomach. It is a procedure where the NG tube is placed through your nose down to the throat in connection to your stomach. It is used to suck the secretions out of your stomach until your stomach is properly functioning. In this way, the patient is unable to eat or drink. An NG tube is a rubber tube that is red in color with soft texture and is placed as part of the patient’s small bowel. An NG tube is used to feed the patient temporarily.
Another tube is inserted to the body called the Jackson Pratt Drains. It is used to drain the extra fluid that is present while the surgery is happening and could still be present until the patient gets home. The procedure may take for about four to six hours, and may or may not need any blood transfusion.
Preparing for whipple surgery
Before doing the whipple surgery, some medical tests are needed. The patient may need to have an examination about his heart’s condition and as well as his lungs. A day before the scheduled operation for whipple surgery, the patient is required to have a clear liquid diet and needs to take some laxative such as magnesium citrate. The patient is not allowed to take any liquids from midnight up to the day of surgery. On the day of the whipple surgery, the patient must practice some breathing exercises which will prevent the patient from having possible pneumonia after the operation.
When whipple surgery is done successfully, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for a couple of days to two weeks for some further observation and additional treatments. In normal situation, a day after the whipple surgery, the patient needs to practice to sit on a chair and do some walking to prevent blood clots, pneumonia and to speed up the recovery period.
After five to seven days of the whipple surgery, the tube that is being connected to the part of which is the NG tube is taken out but the Jackson Pratt Drains tube will remain. It is left in order to suck excess and continuous secretion even when the patient is discharged.
The Jackson Pratt drain tube will be taken by the doctor after two to three weeks of the whipple surgery. There are prescribed medications that the patient needs to take in order to prevent the body from certain complications. The patient should have soft diet for a couple of weeks to ensure that the procedure is successful. Visiting the doctor on a regular basis will help the patient have a fast recovery from whipple surgery.