Whipple Procedure

My father is 72 years old and had the Whipple Procedure on April 21, 2008. His surgeon, Dr. Larry Postier, removed a tumor from the head of his pancreas. At this point, we are still waiting on the pathology report to find out if the tumor is cancer. It's been a week since his surgery.

His recovery has been amazing. He stayed in ICU for three days and then moved to a private room. By the third day, he was walking laps in the ICU unit and continues to walk the hospital halls daily. On the 4th day he began eating jello and broth and on the 5th day he started eating solids with no problems.

The jaundice has mostly cleared and his energy level comes and goes. He says his pain level is a 4 out of 10 and only comes and goes with straining.

The key was having a good surgeon and lots of prayer. We hope he continues to heal quickly and that the pathology report is good. So far, we're more than happy and amazed that someone of his age is healing this well.

On 4/27/2008 teechur wrote:

My father is 72 years old and had the Whipple Procedure on April 21, 2008. His surgeon, Dr. Larry Postier, removed a tumor from the head of his pancreas. At this point, we are still waiting on the pathology report to find out if the tumor is cancer. It's been a week since his surgery.

His recovery has been amazing. He stayed in ICU for three days and then moved to a private room. By the third day, he was walking laps in the ICU unit and continues to walk the hospital halls daily. On the 4th day he began eating jello and broth and on the 5th day he started eating solids with no problems.

The jaundice has mostly cleared and his energy level comes and goes. He says his pain level is a 4 out of 10 and only comes and goes with straining.

The key was having a good surgeon and lots of prayer. We hope he continues to heal quickly and that the pathology report is good. So far, we're more than happy and amazed that someone of his age is healing this well.

WOW great for him and for you. He seems to be recovering faster then I did. I had my Whipple 2 weeks shy of my 60th birthday and didn't do as well as him..... Great stuff....

My wife survived Breast Cancer and does alot of cancer walks. She always comes back with stories of people she has met who had pancreatic cancer and are in their 70's, surviving for 5, 10, 15 and more years.

So the best to your Dad - god bless him.

Please keep us posted.

On 4/27/2008 dmc1944 wrote:

That's wonderful ! and great that your Dad is so enthusiastically working at recovery.  Where did he have his surgery?

OU Medical Center in OKC, OK

He is still doing well but experiencing a lot of drainage from the abdominal tubes.  This is his 9th day in the hospital but the doctors said he will probably leave in two days.  Home health care is scheduled to come to the house to help my mom take care of him.  She is also 72. 

He is still walking daily but his energy is really low and he hasn't been eating as much as he did the first two days of solid food.  It doesn't make him sick, he just says he always feels full.  Probably because of the swelling/bloating in his stomach.

We're still awaiting the pathology report.

On 4/27/2008 teechur wrote:

My father is 72 years old and had the Whipple Procedure on April 21, 2008. His surgeon, Dr. Larry Postier, removed a tumor from the head of his pancreas. At this point, we are still waiting on the pathology report to find out if the tumor is cancer. It's been a week since his surgery.

His recovery has been amazing. He stayed in ICU for three days and then moved to a private room. By the third day, he was walking laps in the ICU unit and continues to walk the hospital halls daily. On the 4th day he began eating jello and broth and on the 5th day he started eating solids with no problems.

The jaundice has mostly cleared and his energy level comes and goes. He says his pain level is a 4 out of 10 and only comes and goes with straining.

The key was having a good surgeon and lots of prayer. We hope he continues to heal quickly and that the pathology report is good. So far, we're more than happy and amazed that someone of his age is healing this well.

Hello, my story is similar to yours.  My mother (71) had the Whipple procedure on March 19, 2008.  She was in ICU for 4 days and then moved to a ward.  It took her a little longer to get up and moving but the doctor said she was recovering well.  Her stay at the hospital was exactly 2 weeks.  She has been home now for approximately 4 weeks.  We only just received the pathology report last week (5 weeks after surgery.)

Wow...  I can't imagine that you guys had to wait 5 weeks!  Did the doctors give you a reason for the delay? 

It's great to hear that other "older" patients are doing so well after the Whipple.  We were really concerned because of his age. 

Right now we're still waiting the pathology report but the doctors said he would probably go home tomorrow.  They want his drainage to slow down and for him to produce more urine.  He's eating more today because the doctors told him that eating would help everything to work more quickly.

I'm not quite sure why the pathology report took so long.  I know the surgeon did say that it was a much more extensive examination of the tissues as what would have occurred in the operating room. 

My mother's surgery lasted 11 hours.  What about your father's?

He was in surgery for 5 1/2 hours.  His doctor also said that the procedure turned out to be more extensive than they had planned.  There was a tumor in the head of the pancreas and he also said there was a small amount hiding behind a vein that they couldn't remove.  A few years ago my dad had some small tumors removed from his neck.  The doctor thought they were cancerous but after several tests they were all negative.  They even sent the biopsy out of state to be tested and still negative.  We're hoping the pancreatic tumor has the same results.  Hope your mother is still doing well.

How long did she have drainage?  My dad is still putting out quite a bit after 10 days.  His appetite comes and goes and his pain level is usually 2 or less out of 10.  His blood sugar has dropped to the high 40s several times in the last three days.  I suppose with the removal of part of the pancreas it's difficult to readjust the blood sugar levels.

On 5/1/2008 DearDaughter wrote:

What state and hospital did your father have the procedure done in? My father is 80 years old which we are told is not usually a candidate for this type of operation, however he is a very young 80.

Many things I've read have said the success of the surgery has a lot to do with the experience of the surgeon.  Matter of fact, the first surgeon referred my dad to another guy because he didn't think he was experienced enough because of my dad's age.

His procedure was done at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City.  The surgeon's name is Dr. Postier

Good Luck!