Pancreas Surgery: Steps, Benefits, Side-Effects, Precautions & Prognosis

The pancreas being a key organ of the endocrine and digestive systems of the body is indispensable for the smooth functioning of the human body. Hence, a diseased condition of the pancreas, like a tumor, abscess or malignancy that causes pancreatitis and makes the dysfunctional organ calls for pancreatic surgery. There are different methods, or kinds of pancreas surgery and the type that a patient will have to opt for will depend upon whether his or her pancreatitis is chronic or acute.

More often than not, the condition or syndrome can be treated and managed without going for invasive intervention or surgery. Nevertheless, if an infection or degeneration of the pancreatic tissues becomes longstanding and acute, surgery is the only treatment option.

Steps

The most common pancreatic surgery procedures include minimally invasive pancreatic resection, spleen-preserving pancreatectomy, ‘The Whipple’, and Enucleation of pancreatic tumor.’ Minimally invasive pancreatic resection surgery is conducted laparoscopically giving the interventional radiologist or gastroenterologist good access to the abdomen via tiny keyhole notches. This surgical method is appropriate for patients having pancreatic cysts.

Spleen-preserving pancreatectomy is conducted laparoscopically where the pancreas is excised, but the spleen is kept intact for preserving its immunological functionality as well as minimize the risks of complications and infections in the future. The traditional pancreatectomy method entails the removal of the spleen along with the metastatic pancreas for reversing the spread of cancer. Nevertheless, if the surgery is carried out for a benign condition like pancreatic tumor or cyst, then spleen resection is not necessary.

Enucleation process is appropriate for dealing with benign or non-cancerous tumors where these are scraped out carefully instead of expurgating a large pancreatic section.

‘The Whipple’ surgery or ‘pancreaticoduodenectomy’ is the go-to procedure for treating pancreatic cancer and also for dealing with complications or abscesses related to the bile duct, intestine, and pancreas. The surgery where the top of the pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder, and duodenum are removed can be extremely complex and demanding, fraught with risks.

Benefits

If the surgery is for treating pancreatitis or tumors, then opting for laparoscopic surgery is the best option. In such a case, recuperation is faster necessitating a shorter hospital stay. However, if the surgery is for pancreatic cancer, then the operation lasts for several hours and the patient may have to be in the hospice for at least a week.

Complete recovery might take many weeks and even months. Benefits of going for a major pancreatic surgery are:-

• Best treatment technique for remedying cancer and reversing chronic pancreatitis
• Increased lifespan
• Digestive issues and complications associated with pancreas might be resolved post surgery
• Chemotherapy and radiotherapy for continued treatment in case cancer recurs

Side Effects

Pancreatic surgeries for dealing with cancer tend to be extremely complicated, and it is no wonder that such operations have a very high mortality rate. Nearly 50% of the patients report grave complications and about 2%-4% expire. The most common risks include:-

• Wound infection or cardiac infection
• Hemorrhage (bleeding)
• Leakage from pancreas from the point where it is linked with the intestine
• Allergic reaction to general anesthesia (very rare)

Precautions

Fully recuperating from a complex pancreas surgery takes time and the convalescing process could be exhausting, especially for older patients. You’ll be required to report to your surgeon 1-2 times in a month following your recovery. The doctor will evaluate your progress and may recommend CT or MRI scans, and blood tests to ensure that there is no recurrence of cancerous tumors or lesions.

Dietary and lifestyle changes to have to be made to maintain overall health and also to reduce the risks of relapse.

Prognosis

Pancreatic cancer and all other serious complications of the pancreas are, by and large, regarded as untreatable and hence incurable. Nevertheless, the mortality rates related to pancreatic cancer (post surgery) have steadily declined over the decades.

Concluding Remarks

Living without a pancreas can be a challenge for any individual. If you’re diagnosed with a tumor or inflammation of your pancreas, you can continue to live an almost normal life, provided you opt for an appropriate treatment plan and abide by our physician’s guidelines. If you’ve cancer, then surgical removal of the pancreas is the only option. However, you’ll have to keep your fingers crossed on whether cancer will recur or not.

References

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/whipple-procedure/about/pac-20385054
2. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-treatments/c/cancer-surgery/types/complex-pancreatic-surgery.html
3. https://www.mskcc.org/blog/drug-reduces-risk-serious-pancreatic-surgery-complication
4. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-treatments/p/pancreatic-surgery/types/spleen-preserving-pancreatectomy.html
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2023932/
6. https://www.ariahealth.org/programs-and-services/surgery/general-surgery/pancreatic-surgery
7. http://columbiasurgery.org/pancreas/what-expect-after-operation
8. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/treating/surgery.html
9. http://pancreatic.org/pancreatic-cancer/about-the-pancreas/prognosis/