This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by
Chukwuemeka Obiora, MD, Surgical Oncologist, City of Hope Atlanta.
This page was reviewed on March 17, 2023.
Your pancreas is an organ located next to the spleen and behind the stomach. It contains exocrine cells responsible for releasing enzymes that help you digest food (particularly fats), as well as endocrine cells that release the blood sugar-controlling hormones insulin and glucagon.
If you develop cancer in the exocrine cells, it’s called adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. When it starts in the endocrine cells, the cancer is known as a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET). According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), fewer than 2 percent of all pancreatic cancers are pancreatic NETs, also called islet cell tumors.
A pancreatectomy is a surgical procedure to remove all or part of the pancreas. In some cases, the spleen and other organs may also be removed.
Most often, treatment for NETs involves a pancreatectomy, which may be used either to completely remove the cancer or as a palliative option to reduce symptoms.
Pancreatectomies may be partial or total, depending on the size, location and type of NET. Because it’s a complex surgery that may result in complications and typically has a long and difficult recovery time, it’s important to discuss the risks and benefits with your care team.
This surgery also may be used to treat pancreatic adenocarcinomas.
The specific type of pancreatectomy used to treat your pancreatic cancer or NET is based on the grade and location of your tumor.
A staging laparoscopy may first be performed to determine how far the tumor has progressed and whether or not surgery to remove the tumor is possible. A surgeon makes several small “keyhole” incisions on your abdomen and uses a laparoscope, a thin instrument with a camera on one end, to view your pancreas and possibly take a biopsy.
In the past, a pancreatectomy was performed exclusively via traditional surgery with a large abdominal incision (open surgery), but the past 10 years have presented medical advances. Pancreatectomies are now also performed laparoscopically (with tiny incisions) and/or with the use of robotic arms that help guide the surgery—both are more advanced and less invasive processes.
Using these methods helps to speed up recovery time and reduce potential complications. A laparoscopic pancreatectomy may be used to perform all types of pancreatectomies, but only your surgeon determines whether open or laparoscopic surgery is appropriate based on the extent of the cancer.
If your tumor is resectable (removable), you may undergo one of the following procedures, either laparoscopically or via open surgery.
This procedure removes the neck and part of the body of the pancreas but leaves the head and tail. It’s typically performed for tumors in the neck of the pancreas.
After this surgery, the pancreas continues to function. However, not all cancer types are eligible for this treatment. It can offer good results in patients with benign or low-grade tumors.
During a distal pancreatectomy, a surgeon removes the tail alone, or the tail and a portion of the body of the pancreas, often along with the spleen. Because it’s a partial pancreatectomy, the pancreas can often still produce its own enzymes.
However, cancers in the body and tail are often diagnosed after they’ve spread, which means this surgery may not be appropriate. If you also have your spleen removed during a distal pancreatectomy, your body has an increased risk of infection, so extra precautions will be needed.
In a Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) head and sometimes part of the body are removed, along with:
When part of the stomach is removed, sections of your bile duct and pancreas are attached to your remaining small intestine, so that bile and digestive enzymes are able to pass through.
This is the most common surgery for cancer in the head of the pancreas. However, it’s a complex procedure with a risk of complications, including infection, bleeding and diabetes, which is why it’s critical you choose a skilled surgeon for the procedure.
Similar to a Whipple procedure, a total pancreatectomy involves the removal of:
This surgery can be appropriate in cases where the cancer has spread through the entire pancreas. However, removing the pancreas can also have major side effects and complications, so a total pancreatectomy isn’t performed often.
You can live without a pancreas, but you would need to take extra steps to look after your health. These include:
In addition, patients who don’t have a pancreas develop diabetes, so be sure to speak with your doctor about how this would affect your lifestyle.
Before you have a pancreatectomy, you will likely undergo a laparoscopy to determine the location and extent of the tumor. Even so, your surgeon won’t always know whether your tumor is resectable until during the procedure. If the doctor discovers the cancer has spread and the tumor cannot be completely removed, the operation may be ended. Alternatively, your doctor may choose to remove a portion of the tumor if doing so alleviates some of your side effects, called palliative surgery.
Prior to surgery, your doctor may prescribe somatostatin analog drugs to ease any symptoms you may be experiencing. These drugs work by controlling the tumor’s growth, slowing the multiplication of neuroendocrine tumor cells. They may also be used to stop the tumors from releasing hormones, in turn reducing your symptoms.
Other medications may be prescribed as well, such as:
You may also receive other types of treatment prior to surgery, called neoadjuvant therapy, in the form of chemotherapy or radiation, or a combination of both. The goal of neoadjuvant therapy is to shrink cancerous cells.
Several tests may be conducted before your surgery to assess your health, including:
You may be evaluated by an anesthesiologist, as well as your surgeon, to plan for the procedure. If your spleen is to be removed, your immune system won’t work as well as it did before. Your doctor may prescribe immunotherapy drugs and let you know if you need any additional immunizations, which should be done three weeks prior to your procedure.
In the days before surgery, your doctor may also prescribe a bowel preparation regimen. If you’re on certain medications, such as blood thinners, you may be asked to stop taking them beforehand, but be sure to follow your doctor’s specific instructions.
Also, be sure you have everything you need at home ready for your return from the hospital. Ask any questions you may have and have your concerns addressed well before the day of your surgery.
Surgery is the only chance a patient has to remove all of the pancreatic cancer, according to the ACS. Even if it’s not resectable, a pancreatectomy as a palliative option may help in reducing side effects, even when the tumor has spread.
Pancreatectomy is a major surgery that can be difficult to recover from; a full recovery may take weeks to months.
Despite the complexity of the surgery, patients without complications may be discharged from the hospital four to five days after a less-invasive procedure such as a distal pancreatectomy and six to seven days after a more complicated Whipple procedure.
It’s possible to have complications from a pancreatectomy even when the surgery goes well, including:
In the best-case scenario, a pancreatectomy removes the cancer. In more advanced cases, it may relieve your symptoms. The odds of the pancreatic NETs being fully removed depend on several factors, including:
Depending on the extent of your tumor and whether it’s spread, the cancer may have been completely removed by the surgery, or it may still be present in other areas. As with all types of cancer, there’s always a chance or recurrence, and patients who have had a pancreatic NET are at greater risk of developing other cancers, such as:
It’s a good idea to work with your doctor to design a survivorship care plan that includes:
Close monitoring of your symptoms after surgery is important. Your doctor can let you know if you need to take any new medications after your surgery.