ckah55

How have you been dealing with the bile reflux? No one seems to here to much of this . The burning in pancreatic area, radiating to back, makes it hard to want to eat. Food is trial and error, eat the wrong food and the burning gets worse. I seem to have flares about every 3 months. I do somedays when out eat some desserts, which my allows for about a day or 2 than the pain can start. It's like being on a roller coaster. I have been going to Penn Med for second opinion. My whipple and treatments were done at Jeff. My surgeon said hasn't had anyone have the bile reflux in their practice. If you have any suggestion. I had my Whipple in 2012, chemo and radiation and I do think the radiation made it worse.

I am also from Philadelphia.

They had to unattach the lower intestine from the part of the esophagus that was not removed. Then they resected that part of the lower intestine. They created an opening (stoma) in his chest and attached the esophagus to it. This was done to "save it" for a future attempt at reconstruction. He is wearing an ostomy bag to collect flem and spit. They also had to remove the spleen due to tears. It was felt that the organ tissue was compromised from the last round of very agressive chemo that was completed about 4 weeks before the surgery. The plan is for him to begin chemo/radiation in approximately 6 weeks. I am not clear on how long this is to be but I believe it is going to be in the neighborhood of 6 weeks (but I could be wrong). After that is completed, he will spend a few months recovering and when the surgeon feels he is healed enough and is in strong enough shape, he will go back in and try the reconstruction again.