What is the difference between a partial pancreatectomy , and a total? well in the partial (whipple) , The procedure removes the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, the gallbladder, the bottom section of the stomach, and the upper part of the small intestine. The remaining tail of the pancreas and bile duct from the liver are re-sewn to the small intestine and the small intestine is sewn directly to the remaining stomach. Bile from the liver and pancreatic juices from the remaining pancreas will be secreted into the small intestine to digest food, rather than into the duodenum.

Then for total, The duodenum, stomach, and other organs removed in the Whipple are also removed; the difference is that the tail of the pancreas is not sewn back into the small intestine. It is possible for a patient to live without their pancreas. These patients are absolutely required to use insulin to control their blood sugar and pancreatic enzyme supplements to digest food.

now add to those the Islet cell transplant and that gives a variable to the amount of insulin needed IF NEEDED. The whole hope is to aquire enough cells to not need insulin at all!


Pancreatectomy and Auto-Islet Transplant

In 1977, surgeons at the University of Minnesota performed the world's first auto islet transplant after the patient received a total pancreatectomy. Since that time, over 138 pancreatectomy and auto-islet transplants have been performed here, 16 of these procedures have been performed on children under the age of 18. Physicians from the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview (formerly called Fairview University Medical Center), have performed about 2/3 of all pancreatectomy and auto islet transplants in the world.
In patients with small-duct chronic pancreatitis, relief of pain can usually be achieved only by total pancreatectomy (removal of their pancreas). People with chronic debilitating pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas may want to consider having a pancreatectomy and auto islet transplant. During this type of surgery, a patient's whole pancreas is removed. Without a pancreas, a person becomes diabetic and needs to take insulin shots. However, to help minimize the need for insulin shots, the patient's own islets are isolated from the pancreas and are put back into the patient through a catheter into the portal vein in the liver. The islets lodge in the liver or spleen and start producing insulin for the patient. With this type of procedure, the patient does not need to take immunosuppressive medications to prevent rejection of the islets by their body because the islets that are infused originally came from their own pancreas.
The probability of islet success is highest in those individuals who have had no previous direct surgery on the body and tail of the pancreas (such as a Puestow or Whipple procedure). For relief from the debilitating pain of chronic pancreatitis, patients have to accept the possibility of diabetes. If diabetes is prevented, it is a bonus.

Which we are hoping to win that bonus round!