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Whipple Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer
Risks
The Whipple procedure is one of the most complicated operations a surgeon can do. It carries a fairly high risk of complications, such as:
- Trouble with the stomach emptying after eating.
- Leaking at the connections the surgeon makes.
- Infection or bleeding.
A small number of people don't survive this operation. When surgeons with a lot of experience perform this surgery, fewer than 5 out of 100 patients die, compared to 20 to 30 out of 100 when the surgeon is less experienced.Reference 1 So it's important to find a surgeon who has done the Whipple procedure many times.
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: March 5, 2012 |
| Medical Review: | Reference E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine | |
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