This image shows a Whipple’s specimen for pancreatic head cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is deadly, heavily associated with cigarette smoking, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, and alcohol use. Whipple procedure is better known as pancreaticoduodenectomy, or the surgical procedure done to remove a resectable pancreatic tumor. It is the only potentially curative intervention for malignant tumors of the pancreas, although many patients present with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable disease. It typically involves resection of the pancreatic head (most common location of the tumor) along with the duodenum, proximal jejunum, and gallbladder, with surgical drainage of the distal pancreatic duct and biliary system, usually accomplished through anastomosis to the jejunum (reconstruction of the remaining GI tract). The primary reason for removing so much of the intraabdominal structures is that they all share a common blood supply.Photo by @mikesurg1
