Pancreatic cancer surgery

If you are diagnosed with having the cancer in your pancreas then going through with a surgical procedure is the best way to go.Surgery to Remove Cancer on the Pancreas

This is not a small procedure and it is not appropriate for everyone unfortunately. It is reserved for those who are fit and healthy, and for those who have a small area of cancer. If you are a candidate for this particular surgery then you will more than likely be referred to specialists who focus on pancreatic surgeries. Prior to any surgery it is advisable to go through with the surgeon the possible risks and after care involved. It really depends on where the cancer is and the size of it which will determine how much of the pancreas is taken away.Types of Operations

If your surgeon decides to take away all of the pancreas then this is known as a pancreatectomy. A distal pancreatectomy is when the surgeon removes the lower part of the pancreas and when the surgeon has to make the decision to take away the top of the pancreas as well as the bottom of the stomach and the initial piece of the smaller bowel including the gall bladder and lymph nodes then this is known as pancreatoduodenectomy. It is probably advisable to have a laparoscopy to find out which particular surgery will be required for you. In some cases the surgeon may not be able to remove all of the cancer in the surgery so they may have to do a partial resection which means they only remove a bit of the cancer which will help you to be more comfortable and it will slow the cancer down.

Bypass Operation for Pancreatic Cancer

When the doctors talk about bypass surgery for the pancreas there are two different types. The first one will take care of jaundice and the second will help with any blockages that exist in the beginning of the duodenum. The first type mentioned for the treatment of jaundice works by connecting the gall bladder to the little bowel. The point of this bypass is to allow bile to go cleanly from the liver into the bowel. The second bypass used for blockages is performed because the cancer sometimes compresses on the duodenum which causes vomiting because the food is stopped from leaving the stomach. The surgeons basically do the bypass from the stomach to the part after the duodenum called the jejunum and this is known medically as a gastrojejunostomy.