The FAP - Whipple Report

 WARNING: This post contains medical graphic pictures. Apr 1, 2024 was a day I had been dreaming about since my Whipple Surgery ( Nov 17, 2023) and the complications that started a few days later. It was the day the Enterocutaneous Fistula stopped outputting any fluid or paste. I was secretly happy to see no discharge from the fistula, but was still skeptical to believe things were healed. I think I didn’t even tell the medical team for a day or 2. For 4 months I had spent many sleepless nights reading about how these fistulas could cause problems requiring surgery to try and fix them. I had even had a room mate for a day who was back in the hospital again because they were experiencing problems with a similar fistula for over a year and a half. I was very concerned the fistula would cause more problems than the original surgery or reduce the quality of my life. Zero output of the fistula was a huge step forward in the recovery but it was still another 3 months before the scab fel...

 WARNING , this post contains Medical Graphic Pictures below.  I can’t help wondering if Creon, a pancreatic enzyme, caused extra damage to internal tissue when it got into a gastrojejunostomy (GJ) stomach leak, then a enterocutaneous fistula ? I had the Whipple Surgery in Nov 2023, then a few days post surgery developed a pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) leak, followed by hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) leak, gastrojejunostomy (GJ), and a stubborn fistula. The gastrojejunostomy (GJ), the new connection between the stomach, and small bowel, didn’t show up on any CT scans, and wasn’t truly discovered till Mar 2024.  The reason I ask the above question is: I was discharged from the hospital in early Jan 2024, I still had fluid/ paste leaking out the fistula located in the middle of my incision. When I was discharged it seemed that the leak, and fistula were healing. Jan 6, 2024, Home Care Nurse noted: “ There are 2 small opening in the incision”. On Jan 18, 2024 I saw the medica...