Whipple Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer The Whipple procedure is
an operation to remove a Reference pancreatic tumor and a lot of
the tissue around it. After a large cut is made in your belly,
the surgeon will look at the pancreas and other organs in the
area, including Reference lymph nodes Opens New Window, to see
if the cancer has spread. Tissue samples will be taken for a
Reference biopsy Opens New Window. When the surgeon is satisfied
that the tumor has not spread and can be removed entirely, he or
she takes out the part of the pancreas containing the tumor. The
surgeon will also take out the first part of the small
intestine, the bile duct, the gallbladder, and nearby lymph
nodes. Sometimes the lower part of the stomach is also removed.
The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor and some of the
normal tissue around it. The normal tissue is examined under a
microscope to see if it is free of cancer cells. This is known
as getting "clear margins." Having clear margins improves the
chances—but doesn't guaran