A Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) is a major, complex surgery used to remove tumors or disease from the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, the gallbladder, and the bile duct.

If you’re reading this, this might sound strange, but, congratulations. You are one of a very small percentage of people who get to have the Whipple surgery, which is going to save your life. This surgery and recovery will be one of the most difficult things you’ll ever go through, but you can do this, and I’m here to help.

Planning For Your Hospital Stay

Get yourself ready for a 5-7-day (average) stay in the hospital by prepping the house and packing your bags with critical supplies.

• Have someone create a visitor schedule for your hospital stay.
• If you have longer hair, have someone braid your hair the night before your surgery.
• Get your house ready for your return home:
  • Extra pillows so you can sleep in a comfortable position.
  • Toilet safety bars. You might spend a lot of time on the toilet. Make it easier on yourself.
  • Squatty potty.
  • Shower chair.
  • No-slip socks.
  • Compression brace.
• Stock the kitchen with gentle foods:
  • Broth
  • Jello
  • Applesauce
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Eggs (for scrambled eggs)
  • Pudding
  • Cream of wheat/rice
  • Oatmeal
  • Protein shakes, such as Boost, Kate Farm, Ensure, etc.

What to Bring to the Hospital

Your stay in the hospital should be about a week. Don’t try to rush it. You need this time to recover under the watchful eyes of your surgeon(s) and nurses. Pack your hospital bag with:

• A notebook for taking notes and/or creating a medical diary.
• A champion! You’re going to need someone with you when the surgeon comes in using big, complicated words and you’re trying to squint through an Oxycodone fog to catch half of it.
• Your own pillow.
• A colorful blanket.
• Activities: Coloring books, deck of cards, ipad with downloaded movies (wifi is sketchy at hospitals), crossword puzzle books.
• Fanny pack for drains. If your surgeon tells you ahead of time you’ll have drains, this is a MUST HAVE. And your nurses will love you for bringing it.
• A few self-care items like baby wipes, nice-smelling lotion (not your favorite, because this smell will probably become associated with the hospital and might become a smell you never want to experience again!), good lip balm, face moisturizer, etc. The hospital can provide you with whatever you don’t have, such as toothbrush/toothpaste, hair brush, shampo/conditioner…
• Several pairs of comfy pajama sets with button-front tops like these.
• Slippers.
• Phone charger.

During Your Hospital Stay

• Be honest about pain levels, and stay on top of your pain. You might have chosen an epidural, which will get you through the first few days post-op. Once the epidural wears off, you’ll have significant pain, so don’t let time lapse between your doses. You need your pain to be managed well so you can rest and heal.
• Your nurses know what you’re going through. They’ve seen a lot of Whipples, and they are good at helping with them.
  • If you’ve got drains, they know how each functions, and they’ll empty them for you.
  • If you’ve got a feeding tube, they’ll coach you through that functionality.
  • The nurses can help you navigate taking your first bites of food. They’ll have things like broth, pudding, applesauce and Jello, which are good first steps.
• Get out of your hospital gown as soon as you can. It will make you feel normal to put on some comfy jammies.
• Walk a lot, even if it’s for just a couple minutes at a time. If you don’t have a friend/family  member with you when you want to walk, staff will take you.
• Stand up and stretch a lot. Don’t let yourself lie in bed all day.
• Use normal activities as an excuse to get out of bed, such as brushing your teeth.
• Find a good sleep position using pillows. My surgeon recommended lying on my back with pillows under each arm and my head slightly elevated.
• If you’re nauseous, have your nurse prep you to sit in a hot shower. This is a great way to get relief for a while.

How You’ll Feel in the Days and Months Following Your Surgery

Welcome home from the hospital. Now it’s time to really focus on gaining strength and learning what you can eat.

• Stay on top of your pain medications, but also be ready to start weaning off of them as your pain starts to subside.
• You’ll probably feel incision pain as well as dull interior pain for a while, as your insides were very seriously rewired.
• You might feel stomach pain or a “Whipple attack” if you eat something your body doesn’t agree with. A heating pack, pain meds and rest will get you through this uncomfortable couple of hours.
• You’ll probably feel like your body takes forever to digest food. This isn’t necessarily painful, just strange and uncomfortable. You might feel a high-abdominal pressure, which is food sitting for long periods in your stomach before it passes on. Be patient: your digestive system is learning how to adjust to its new wiring.
• Keep walking, even if it’s down the hall and back. Walk especially after you eat, as this aids in digestion.
• If you have drains/tubes at home with you, take note of exactly how long they are and make sure that length doesn’t change. Problems can occur if your drain/tube travels.
• Use the shower to mitigate nausea. Spend hours in there if you need to! Just make sure to properly seal your incision/drains.
• Try to do things for yourself, as these activities will count toward getting your strength back. Get up to get your glass of water versus letting someone help you.
• Eat small, frequent meals throughout the day. They say your stomach is like that of a newborn baby, so gentle foods only, no raw vegetables for a long while, and probably no meat, either. Get your protein through protein shakes, eggs and dairy if you can tolerate it. You might be advised to take Creon or another digestive enzyme to help your body absorb nutrients.
• You might be sent home with feeding tube nutrition or TPN through a PICC line. Lean on this supplemental nutrition while you figure out what you can safely eat.
• Don’t worry if you’re not gaining weight. Weight loss is common after the Whipple. Try to stay steady with your weight for the first couple months, then, as you can eat more, you’ll start gaining your weight back.
• Take good care of your incision. It’s probably huge and gnarly, but consider it a symbol of a battle well fought. Want to see my incisions/scars/drains? Watch the end of this video.
• No heavy lifting for a long while. Don’t risk a hernia or pain as your core is healing.
• Wear a compression brace if it feels good. I lived in mine for months, because I liked the support it gave me.

Final Thoughts

• They say it takes one month to recover for every hour spent in surgery. Normal Whipple surgeries take 4-12 hours, so this is a very long recovery. Be patient with yourself, as recovery takes time.
• Again, share everything you’re experiencing with your medical team.
• Reach out to positive people who know what you’re going through. This is where my team of friends stands out from the negative and bot/spam-filled, poorly managed Facebook groups out there.
• If your next step is chemo, you might feel rushed into it, and you might not feel ready. Somehow, someway, you’ll get through this, too. Get as strong as you can and have the best weight you can going into chemo. Know that you won’t be even remotely healed from the Whipple as you enter chemo, so be kind and patient with yourself. You will be amazed by what you and your strong body can handle. Read my Tips for Preparing for Fulfurinox Chemotherapy.