Pancreatic surgery might be required for several reasons, such as chronic pancreatitis, pseudocysts of the pancreas, pancreatic cancer, or other diseases that have affected the pancreas as well as nearby organs.
Lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ): is a procedure done for chronic pancreatitis patients if their pain is not relieved with medication.
Pancreatectomy is the surgical removal of the pancreas; this can further be classified into 3 parts:
- Distal Pancreatectomy is the removal of the tail and body of the pancreas and just the remaining portion or the head is preserved
- Central Pancreatectomy Here only the head and tail of the pancreas is preserved and the between part is taken out.
- Total Pancreatectomy is the removal of the total pancreas
Whipple procedure: which is also called as pancreaticoduodenectomy, is a surgical procedure for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In this procedure, the pancreatic head and neck, duodenum ( part of the small intestine), part of the bile duct, the gallbladder as well as any lymph nodes around it are removed as well.
A Whipple procedure might be required in the event of any of the below conditions:
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Pancreatic Cysts
- Pancreatic Tumors
- Ampullary Cancer
- Bile duct cancer
- Neuroendocrine tumors
- Small bowel cancer
- Pancreatic injury
- Injury to nearby organs