Mayo stand and back table instruments for Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple) surgery setup

Clamping & Occluding

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  Allis Forceps

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  Babcock

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  Curved Hemostat

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  Kelly Forceps

Cutting & Dissecting

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  #3 Knife Handle

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  Curved Mayo Scissor

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  Metzenbaum Scissor

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  Straight Mayo Scissor

Grasping & Holding

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  Adson Forceps

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  Debakey Forcep

Retracting & Exposing

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  Army-Navy Retractor

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  Bookwalter Retractor

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  Ribbon retractor

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  Richardson Retractor

Suctioning

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  Ferg-Frazier Suction

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  Yankauer Suction

Suturing & Stapling

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  Mayo-Hegar Needle Holder

What to expect during Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple)

Proper imaging should be done before the patient comes to the OR for surgery, but if the patient is opened up and the surgeon finds the cancer has spread throughout the abdomen, they will abort the whole procedure.

The patient will be positioned supine on the OR table, and they will be under general anesthesia.

An incision will be made on their abdomen with either a 15 or 10 blade loaded on a #3 knife handle.

The head of the pancreas will be removed first. You will have multiple specimens during this surgery, so be sure to label everything exactly how the surgeon pronounces them.

Most of the duodenum will be removed, along with the gallbladder, a portion of the bile duct, possibly part of the stomach, and some lymph nodes.

A variety of different abdominal staplers should be ready in the room for these different removals.

The next step is reattaching portions of the abdomen to ensure proper bodily functions. The rest of the pancreas and bile duct is attached to the small intestine, and the rest of the stomach will be attached to the small intestine as well for proper function.

After everything has been reattached, closure of the abdomen can begin.