Who Invented the Whipple Procedure?
Pancreatic cancer, also known as exocrine cancer, is denoted by malignant cells within pancreatic tissue. Treatment for pancreatic cancer often includes a combination of chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy as well as, vaccination therapy. In some cases, surgery may also be an option. According to Mayo Clinic, the Whipple Procedure is the surgical procedure used most often by surgeons to remove dangerous cancers. The Whipple Procedure was first attempted in 1935, and later named for the surgeon who invented it.
Dr. Allen Whipple
Allen Whipple was born in 1881 to American missionary parents in the country of Persia, which is now modern-day Iran. The Whipple family returned to the United States 15 years later where Allen Whipple entered high school and continued the education he had been receiving overseas. In the book "History of the Pancreas," author John Malone Howard explains that Allen Whipple earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1904, and immediately entered Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons on scholarship. He graduated from Columbia with honors in 1908 and became a professor at Columbia and director of surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where his interests in pancreatic surgery began.
Necessity, the Mother of Invention
The invention of the Whipple Procedure occurred completely by chance. Columbia University Medical Center explains that while planning to demonstrate the removal of a gastric carcinoma, Dr. Whipple instead encountered a carcinoma on his patient's pancreas. This unexpected course of events forced him to create a new surgical procedure to remove the carcinoma. The new surgical procedure is what is known now as the Whipple Procedure or pancreatoduodenectomy.
Whipple Procedure Modifications
The Whipple Procedure is quite complex. In fact, early surgeons who performed the procedure were not as successful as Dr. Whipple. Deaths were not uncommon to patients who had the Whipple procedure performed, and that trend continued well into the 1970's. Finally, with the advancements of medicine, and keener training, surgeons of the 1980's were finally able to make the Whipple procedure safer and more successful by following some of the modifications that Whipple himself created before his death in 1963. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reports that the mortality rate for the Whipple Procedure at their hospital is below 1.4 percent.
Description of the Whipple Procedure
The Center for Pancreatic and Biliary Diseases describes the Whipple Procedure as a safe operation that entails removing the head of the pancreas and a small amount of the bile duct. During the Whipple Procedure, the gallbladder is also removed, along with the duodenum. The parts of the pancreas, and bile duct that are left intact, are reconnected to the intestines with surgical sutures. In cases where there may be stomach involvement, a section of the stomach may also need to be removed. Earlier versions of the Whipple Procedure did not take into account the possibility of a "pancreatic leak". Therefore, if any of the involved intestines or organs were not sutured correctly; toxic pancreatic fluid could leak into the abdominal area. This problem was later corrected with improved reconstruction and the addition of an external drainage system.
Laser Surgery
According to the Laparoscopy Hospital, physicians are inventing less invasive ways to treat pancreatic cancers. A laparoscopic version of the Whipple Procedure is now in the early stages of development and employs the use of a robotic device. For now, the laparoscopic Whipple Procedure is only performed on patients with cystic tumors, ampullary cancer and pancreatitis.
Tags: Whipple Procedure, Whipple Procedure, Allen Whipple, surgical procedure, bile duct, Columbia University