Pancreas Cancer or Periampullary Cancer usually affect elderly people. The early symptoms are jaundice, weight loss, loss of appetite, itching etc. To stage the disease and also to plan the surgery a good quality Triple Phase CECT scan is essential. The surgery known as Whipple’s pancreatoduodenectomy is a major procedure but the only option of probable cure from the disease, if detected early. Sometimes a Stent ( endoscopically) is placed if the cancer is not operable or if the patient is operable but very sick to buy some time to make the patient fit for surgery. When the tumour involves the Superior Mesenteric Artery or spreads to distant organs, it is considered inoperable.
But the involvement of the Portal vein by the tumour is not an absolute contraindication for resection. In selected patients these tumours can be resected and gives equivalent results had the tumour not involved the vein.
The smiles in the followup make undertaking these complicated procedures worthwhile.
( Permission obtained from the patient and his son for sharing these pics)