On 3/28/2008 Slushy wrote:
My husband has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer. Is there anyone that has had the whipple procedure. I would like to know the success rate and what the complications are.
Yes I had bile duct cancer and I did receive the whipple procedure two years ago. I am 44 years old now and recovered from it reasonably well. I found out about the cancer when my bile began backing up into my bloodsteam. After blood test and getting scoped from gastroenterologist they found the mass where the the bile duct meets into the duodenum of the small intestine. I had the surgery performed in Birmingham AL. There were complications with my case because my blood was so contaminated with bile it hindered my ability to clot properly. I internally bled six days after the surgery which resulted in bile duct damage. I spent 28 days in the hospital and an additional 4 days two weeks later. I had to wear a ostomy bag with a catheder threaded through the bile duct. After the bile duct healed the catheter and ostomy bag were removed. I went into the surgery at 175 lbs. I bottomed out at 128 lbs. I am now 155 lbs. I talked to others who have had the surgery and they were out of the hospital in 10 days. My case was different because of the aformentioned reasons. Surgery and recovery is tough. Get yourself and your husband mentally prepared. It will be two years for me on June 1. I am physically active and all things considered in very good shape. The only medication that I take is Pancrease MT 20. This is an enzyme that helps me digest fats better, otherwise I pass the fats and have a hard time gaining weight. In retrospect regarding the surgery, I would have been in much better condition had they given me a blood transfusion. I was scheduled to have the surgery June 8, 2006, but because of the amount of bile backup I would not have made it another week. I was itching so bad and I believe my kidneys would have failed trying to filter out the bile. The surgery as a result was reschelduled for June 1st. I did have bile duct stents applied twice, but they plugged immediately. Hopefully your husband is not experiencing the bile back up. If he is, make sure his blood is in order prior to surgery. Make no mistake it is one of the tougher surgeries to recover from, but he will recover. The success rate is high these days assuming you are having it done by a doctor who is experienced in this type of surgery. After the surgery get him eating and get him excercising as soon as possible. Its hard but it will accelerate the recovery. I hope this helps. Please respond if any more questions or if you need to talk.