Whipple Operation

Other Known Aliases – Kausch-Whipple procedure

Definition – Radical pancreaticoduodenectomy with distal antrectomy, cholestectomy, and pancreaticojejunostomy, choledocojejunostomy, and gastrojejunostomy

Clinical Significance – Used for resection of carcinoma of the head of the pancreas.

History – The first resection of a periampullary cancer was performed by German surgeon Walther Kausch (1867-1928) in 1909, took four hours to complete, and the patient survived for 9 months.  American surgeon Allen Oldfather Whipple (1881-1963) began working on and refining the procedure in 1935 and in 1940, successfully shortened it to a one-stage procedure.

References

1. Firkin BG and Whitwirth JA.  Dictionary of Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed.  New York, NY; Parthenon Publishing Group. 1996.
2. Bartolucci S, Forbis P.  Stedman’s Medical Eponyms.  2nd ed.  Baltimore, MD; LWW.  2005.
3. Yee AJ, Pfiffner P. (2012).  Medical Eponyms (Version 1.4.2) [Mobile Application Software].  Retrieved http://itunes.apple.com.
4. Whonamedit – dictionary of medical eponyms. http://www.whonamedit.com/. Accessed March 7, 2017.
5. Whipple AO. Observations on radical surgery for lesions of the pancreas. Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics. 1946; 82:623-31. [pubmed]