In medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, a pancreatectomy is the surgical removal

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

 of all or part of the pancreas

Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...

. Several types of pancreatectomy exist, including pancreaticoduodenectomy

Pancreaticoduodenectomy

A pancreaticoduodenectomy, pancreatoduodenectomy, Whipple procedure, or Kausch-Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation involving the pancreas, duodenum, and other organs...

 (Whipple procedure), distal pancreatectomy, segmental pancreatectomy, and total pancreatectomy. These procedures are used in the management of several conditions involving the pancreas, such as benign pancreatic tumors, pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...

, and pancreatitis

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when pancreatic enzymes that digest food are activated in the pancreas instead of the small intestine. It may be acute – beginning suddenly and lasting a few days, or chronic – occurring over many years...

.

Indications

It is performed for a variety of reasons, including:

• Inflammation
  Inflammation
  Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
  
  
  • Necrotising
    Necrosis
    Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
    
     pancreatitis
    Pancreatitis
    Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when pancreatic enzymes that digest food are activated in the pancreas instead of the small intestine. It may be acute – beginning suddenly and lasting a few days, or chronic – occurring over many years...
    
    
  • Chronic pancreatitis with pain
• Trauma
  Physical trauma
  Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
  
  
• Neoplasms
  • Adenocarcinoma
    Adenocarcinoma
    Adenocarcinoma is a cancer of an epithelium that originates in glandular tissue. Epithelial tissue includes, but is not limited to, the surface layer of skin, glands and a variety of other tissue that lines the cavities and organs of the body. Epithelium can be derived embryologically from...
    
     (85%)
  • Cystadenoma
    Cystadenoma
    Cystadenoma refers to a type of cystic adenoma.When malignant, it is called cystadenocarcinoma.-Classification:When not otherwise specified, the ICD-O coding is 8440/0...
    
     (mucinous/serous)
  • Cystadenocarcinoma
    Cystadenocarcinoma
    Cystadenocarcinoma is a malignant form of a cystadenoma and is a malignant neoplasm derived from glandular epithelium, in which cystic accumulations of retained secretions are formed. The neoplastic cells manifest varying degrees of anaplasia and invasiveness, and local extension and metastases occur...
    
    
  • Islet cell tumors (neuroendocrine tumors)
  • Papillary cystic neoplasms
  • Lymphoma
    Lymphoma
    Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
    
    
  • Acinar cell
    Acinar cell
    Acinar cell may refer to:* Centroacinar cells of the pancreas* Other acinus cells...
    
     tumors
• Severe hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia
  Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia
  Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia describes the condition and effects of low blood glucose caused by excessive insulin. Hypoglycemia due to excess insulin is the most common type of serious hypoglycemia. It can be due to endogenous or injected insulin.-Causes:...
  
  

Types

The most common surgical procedure involving removal of a portion of the pancreas is called a pancreaticoduodenectomy

Pancreaticoduodenectomy

A pancreaticoduodenectomy, pancreatoduodenectomy, Whipple procedure, or Kausch-Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation involving the pancreas, duodenum, and other organs...

.

Among common consequences of complete or nearly complete pancreatectomy are deficiencies of pancreatic endocrine or exocrine function requiring replacement of insulin

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

 or digestive enzyme

Digestive enzyme

'Digestive enzymes' are enzymes that break down polymeric macromolecules into their smaller building blocks, in order to facilitate their absorption by the body. Digestive enzymes are found in the digestive tract of animals where they aid in the digestion of food as well as inside the cells,...

s. The patient immediately develops type I diabetes, with little hope for future type I diabetes treatments involving the restoration of endocrine function to a damaged pancreas, since the pancreas is either partially or completely absent. Type I diabetes can be treated with careful blood glucose monitoring and insulin therapy. Because the Pancreas is responsible for the production of many digestive enzymes, a pancreatectomy should only be given as an option for pancreatic disease which is life threatening, such as pancreatic cancers. It is very important to note that even after a pancreatectomy, pain still exists in most patients.

A distal pancreatectomy is removal of the body and tail of the pancreas.

Prognosis

Prognosis for patients living without a pancreas is very poor. Without the endocrine hormones (glucagon, insulin, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide) or the exocrine enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, pancreatic lipase and amylase) a patient would be on a lengthy regimen of medications and would be severely limited in his diet.

An adjunct procedure called islet cell transplantation

Islet cell transplantation

Islet transplantation is the transplantation of isolated islets from a donor pancreas and into another person. It is an experimental treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to produce insulin, actively regulating the level of glucose in the blood.Islets are...

exists to help mediate the loss of endocrine function following total pancreatetomy.