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Table of Contents
Recovery Timeline
Wound Care
Diet
Coping
Next in Whipple Procedure Guide
A Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) is a complex surgery involving several procedures during one operation. It is often performed to treatpancreatic cancer. It will take time for the digestive system to heal after this surgery on thepancreas,gallbladder, bile duct, stomach, and duodenum.
The average hospitalization time after a Whipple procedure is one to two weeks, with the initial night after surgery spent in the intensive care unit (ICU). Further recovery after discharge will take six to eight weeks.
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Diet JournalIt’s a good idea to keep a diet journal after your Whipple procedure. Jot down what foods you eat, how much and how you tolerated each food (as well as liquids). If you had diarrhea, or indigestion after certain foods, be sure to note that. Take your food journal with you to each healthcare provider’s examination so you can accurately report how your diet is being tolerated.
Diet Journal
It’s a good idea to keep a diet journal after your Whipple procedure. Jot down what foods you eat, how much and how you tolerated each food (as well as liquids). If you had diarrhea, or indigestion after certain foods, be sure to note that. Take your food journal with you to each healthcare provider’s examination so you can accurately report how your diet is being tolerated.
Once the initial two month time period is over, after your Whipple procedure, your follow up appointments will be less frequent, such as every three to six months. During this time, your surgeon and healthcare team will:
Most people who have a Whipple procedure because of cancer will need to go through a course of chemotherapy. But, this treatment does not usually start until approximately six to eight weeks after your surgery.
You will most likely be referred to a healthcare provider who specializes in treating pancreatic cancer; but, since your chemo treatment will be a course of treatment given over a specific time-span, you will need to be referred to an oncologist who is geographically close to your home.
A Whipple procedure is a complex operation, it takes time for a full recovery; on average, a person may take around two months to fully recover from pancreatic surgery. Recovery from a Whipple procedure can be separated into various stages; each stage having a different set of goals and outcomes.
But, it’s important to keep in mind that each person recovers at a different rate, but there are some general aspects of a recovery timeline that apply to most people who have had a Whipple procedure, these include:
ICU
You can expect to awaken in the intensive care unit (ICU) (sometimes referred to as Post-Anesthesia Care Unit or PACU) with anasogastric (NG) tubethat has been placed through your nose and into your stomach to remove the normal contents of the stomach (such as saliva). This will help to reduce vomiting after surgery.
You will have a catheter in your bladder (a flexible tube that is placed through the urethra and into the bladder to drain urine out of the body and into a urine bag).
On the first day after your procedure, you will be expected to begin walking, gradually starting with shorter distances and building up each time you walk. Walking helps to speed recovery time, lowers the risk of pneumonia and decreases the chance of blood clots.
Surgical Ward
The first few days after surgery, you will not be allowed to eat any food (so that your digestive system can be allowed to heal after the procedure). Don’t expect to have a bowel movement for several days after the surgery.
IV fluid administration will be maintained for adequate hydration until your surgeon deems that you are taking oral fluids well and there is no longer a need for supplemental IV fluids.
Discharge
Although most people are anxious to go home after any type of surgery, there are specific milestones that a person must overcome before being discharged once they have had Whipple surgery. You must:
In some instances (such as when a person is elderly) it is the recommendation of the healthcare team to discharge a person to a skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation unit before the patient goes home. A skilled nursing facility has professionals that can assist in recovering from a major operation such as a Whipple procedure.
The decision to discharge you to a skilled nursing facility may be made during your preoperative evaluation, but it is often addressed after surgery when the healthcare team can assess how ready you are to go home and evaluate other issues such as how much assistance you have at home and other healthcare issues.
After Discharge
Once you are released from the hospital, there are some strict instructions that your healthcare provider will give you to ensure that you continue the recovery process at home, these include:
Don’t attempt to resume all of your normal activities right away; gradually work up to performing pre-surgery activities. Even if you engaged in a regular exercise/activity regime before your surgery, don’t assume you can just pick up where you left off.
You must start over, gradually working up to your normal routine, but only with the approval of your healthcare provider. Activity guidelines after Whipple surgery may include avoiding lifting anything more than a few pounds for at least six weeks (then get the OK from your surgeon before resuming normal lifting)
Other symptoms may includedifficulty sleeping. This should begin to resolve as you recover. Talk to your healthcare provider if your insomnia does not begin to improve in time.
When to Call Your Healthcare ProviderContact your healthcare provider if you have:A fever over 100 degrees FahrenheitRedness around your incision that worsens or spreadsA sudden increase in blood or other liquid coming from the drainage tubePain that does not subside from medications or pain the worsens over time instead of getting less severeAbsence of a bowel movement for over three daysFrequent bowel movements, severe diarrhea, or oily stools
When to Call Your Healthcare Provider
Contact your healthcare provider if you have:A fever over 100 degrees FahrenheitRedness around your incision that worsens or spreadsA sudden increase in blood or other liquid coming from the drainage tubePain that does not subside from medications or pain the worsens over time instead of getting less severeAbsence of a bowel movement for over three daysFrequent bowel movements, severe diarrhea, or oily stools
Contact your healthcare provider if you have:
After your Whipple procedure, you will have staples or sutures (and you may also have Steri-strips, which are thin pieces of surgical tape) as well as a type of special dressing over your surgical incisions. You will most likely have a wound drainage tube (or more than one drainage tube) left in your abdomen as well.
Your healthcare team will keep an eye on your dressings on a regular basis and monitor your wound drainage tube to ensure your incision is healing well. You may go home with the drainage tubes still in place.
Upon discharge from the hospital, the nurse will give you specific instructions on how to care for your dressing and drainage tubes, which will most likely be removed during a postoperative, follow-up visit to your surgeon’s office.
How to Care for a Drain After Surgery
The trauma of pancreatic surgery usually results in a condition calledgastric ileus. This is a paralysis of the stomach (but it is only temporary) resulting in a lack of motility of the stomach. What this means is that food will not travel properly through thegastrointestinal tract. Due to postoperative gastric ileus, you will not be able to eat for many days after your surgery.
The Whipple procedure is the most common surgical procedure for pancreatic cancer, which has a major impact on digestion and nutrition status. The pancreas secretesinsulinwhich helps to digest carbohydrates and enzymes that help break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
There is no way to gauge exactly when a person will be able to eat after a Whipple procedure. The stomach will take time to regain its normal functioning. It may take a few weeks to a few months.
In the meantime, it’s a process of trial and error to discover how well you can tolerate food and liquids. But, even after you can hold down liquids and solid, easy-to-digest foods (such as gelatin or custard), it may be some time before you can eat a normal diet again.
Postoperative Dietary Guidelines
After pancreatic surgery, it’s common to experience many digestive problems, these may include:
General Dietary Guidelines During Recovery
Although everyone is different regarding foods they can tolerate after a Whipple procedure, there are some general guidelines to follow, these include:
“To everyone out there who has been diagnosed with whatever cancer, remember you are not alone. Remain positive and don’t let this terrible disease grind you down,” says Graham, age 49, who had a Whipple procedure in 2009.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nutritional guidelines following a Whipple procedure.MUSC Health (Medical University of South Carolina).Whipple procedure.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.What to expect from your surgery and hospital stay.UC Health. Help Along the Way.Answers to your Whipple procedure questions.Pancreatic Cancer UK.Graham’s experience of recovering from a Whipple’s operation
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nutritional guidelines following a Whipple procedure.MUSC Health (Medical University of South Carolina).Whipple procedure.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.What to expect from your surgery and hospital stay.UC Health. Help Along the Way.Answers to your Whipple procedure questions.Pancreatic Cancer UK.Graham’s experience of recovering from a Whipple’s operation
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nutritional guidelines following a Whipple procedure.MUSC Health (Medical University of South Carolina).Whipple procedure.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.What to expect from your surgery and hospital stay.UC Health. Help Along the Way.Answers to your Whipple procedure questions.Pancreatic Cancer UK.Graham’s experience of recovering from a Whipple’s operation
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nutritional guidelines following a Whipple procedure.
MUSC Health (Medical University of South Carolina).Whipple procedure.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center.What to expect from your surgery and hospital stay.
UC Health. Help Along the Way.Answers to your Whipple procedure questions.
Pancreatic Cancer UK.Graham’s experience of recovering from a Whipple’s operation
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