Where to have a Whipple done

My mother (69) has been told after an endoscopic unltrasound that she has a mucosinous cyst that needs to be remove via a Whipple procedure.  Her odds are 90/10 that it is cancerous so it must be removed. This procedure is so invasive and she was told it is very improtant to have it done by a surgeon with alot of experience.  We live in So Cal but are willing to go were need be for a surgein known for this procedure.  Please help as my mom lost her brother last year to inoperable gallbladder cancer and are biggest hope is that with this early detection, that everything will be ok.

my husband had his whipple done here at indiana university med center in indianapolis. his surgeon, dr. keith lillemoe, is a well known surgeon from john hopkins in maryland. your best bet would be to start researching on the internet. look up pancreatic surgeons in so california...somewhere closer to you if possible.  my husband did quite well and i believe it is because we went to a hospital and had a doctor who specialized in this kind of surgery. jimandkathy

Hi There.Go to the PanCan website and you will find a list of surgeons who specialize in the Whipple Procedure, in every state.  They are a wealth of information and you will not need to look much further.  Good Luck.

Thank you so much for taking your time to respond.  I would love to be able to find a hospital out here (West Coast) but they seem to be very limited and I have tried to find a surgeon for the Whipple but I keep getting definitions instead of surgeons.  It was through one of those searches that I came across this site and am very glad of it.

I am TRULY happy that your husband is doing well.

 

On 3/27/2007 Rhino wrote:

My mother (69) has been told after an endoscopic unltrasound that she has a mucosinous cyst that needs to be remove via a Whipple procedure.  Her odds are 90/10 that it is cancerous so it must be removed. This procedure is so invasive and she was told it is very improtant to have it done by a surgeon with alot of experience.  We live in So Cal but are willing to go were need be for a surgein known for this procedure.  Please help as my mom lost her brother last year to inoperable gallbladder cancer and are biggest hope is that with this early detection, that everything will be ok.

 

I had my whipple done 16 years ago at Mt. Sinai in NYC but I think  Dr. Kreel is retired.  If you google Isadore Kreel, you will find the other Dr's in his practice in NYC.  Obviously I think that they are angels as I am still here.  Also, My Secretary and her son both had whipples.  She had hers done at Aventura Hospital in Fl and Her son had it done in NYC at Sloane Kettering.  Today the whipple is a much different procedure than it was when I had it done.  I was on the table for 12+ hours, she was out in 4 hrs and her recuperation was a week to go home.  I was 10 days in the hospital and months.  I feel that I had the best surgeons.  I wish you the best and hope that everything is ok.

My comfort with the surgeon, his team and the facility dictate that I recommend the University of Miami and Dr. Joe U. Levi.  However, I am confident that if you find a surgeon who does many Whipples every year and has an experienced team and they are are at a fine teaching institution, the chances of success increase exponentially.