Hi,
My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer December 2006. Dr. Cooperman and Dr Wayne performed his whipple in about 4 hours, maybe a little less. I understand that is very quick for a whipple. I have heard of that operation taking as long as 8-10 hours. Wayne is an excellent doctor. I have never met a surgeon that cared so much about his patients, going so far as to give out his cell phone number in case of emergency. Dr's Cooperman and Wayne now work out of St. Vincent's in NYC as part of the new Pancreatic and Bilary disease group, headed by Dr. Kasmin (a GI doctor). Cooperman is an expert at the whipple, from what I was told.
Currently my dad is in chemo being treated by Dr Bruckner. He is an interesting guy. Genius type. He takes on patients that other places won't. I have ment many people under Bruckner's care that were told they had no hope from other places. He is VERY aggressive with his chemo treatment, using as many as 5 chemicals on my dad. He has had a great deal of success as well.
I know this posting is a little late, but I hope it helps.
Good luck to you. I will keep a good thought for you mother.