HPB Surgery

The name of the surgery itself may sound like a mouthful. HPB stands for Hipato Pancreato Biliary. This surgery caters to the benign and malignant diseases that breed in one’s liver, pancreas, and biliary tree. A biliary tree consists of the gallbladder and bile ducts.

Jointly, the above-mentioned lot is responsible for over 3600 functions in the body. This is why the extreme necessity to eliminate all the problems in this organ system arises.

1. HPB conditions

The HPB surgical procedure will work to eliminate medical conditions such as:

Primary liver cancer:

• Liver tumor removal

The most common liver tumor to metastasize in this organ is known as colorectal cancer which can be cured only after the complete surgical removal of the disease.

Another metastasizing tumor in the liver is the neuroendocrine tumor of the gastrointestinal tract.

• Benign and malignant diseases of the pancreas –

Pancreatic tumors are common but the development of neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas as well as cystic tumors is also common.

Surgical removal of all pancreatic malignancies poses a cure for all the patients affected.

When the tumor is located at the head of the pancreas, a Whipple resection and a blood vessel reconstruction may be called for. You can read more about the Whipple procedure in another blog of ours.

As for the removal of tumors located in the body and tail of the pancreas, minimal techniques will be used to rid the patient of this ailment. This surgical procedure is known as distal pancreatectomy.

In many cases, patients may have to have their bile ducts reconstructed entirely. This will depend on the extent of damage that the tumor has done up until that point and whether the tumor is blocking the bile duct or not.

Gallstones (tiny particles that get lodged in the gallbladder)

To better understand HPB surgery, envision it as being a humongous tree with its branches acting as the cures for the various hepatic pancreatobilary diseases it treats.

2. HPB Surgical Procedures

Certain procedures have been applauded for mitigating the inconveniences caused by the above conditions. They are:

• Ablation therapies in which heat is transported through a small tube to kill the tumors
• Resections involve cutting out a deceased portion of an organ.
• Irreversible electroporation or IRE uses jolts of electricity so that they can poke holes in the pancreas or the liver to decimate the tumor

3. The Diagnosis & Symptoms

The diagnosis for each disease is different. When carrying out an HPB surgery, the following medical tests for the respective diseases shall be carried out:

1. LIVER DISEASE: Liver-function tests, Ultrasound
2. ADVANCED LIVER DISEASE: Fibroscanor Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging (ARFI)

iii. LIVER CANCER: CT scan, MRI, Tumor markers

1. ACUTE PANCREATITIS: CT scan, S. Amylose, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
2. CHRONIC PANCREATIC DISEASE: CT scan, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
3. PANCREATIC CANCER: CT scan, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Tumor markers, Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)

vii. BILE DUCT OBSTRUCTION: Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), Ultrasonography

viii. BILE DUCT CANCER: Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), CT scan

Symptoms for all the above diseases can be delayed, meaning that they may show up in patients when it is too late. There are going to be several distinguished surgical centers that will rule out the possibility of you undergoing HPB surgery or catching the symptoms when they have not had ample time to harm all your vital organs.

Hence, start seeing routine-health checkups as a necessity instead of a nuisance.

If you are a patient who is lined up to undergo this surgery or if you are their family member, there’s good news regarding this cryptic procedure and it is that over the years, its mortality and morbidity rates have reduced remarkably.

Recovery promises satisfactory pain control after the surgery so that the patient does not feel uneasy or lost. The antithesis of this will result in a neuroendocrine stress response which is never ideal for a patient who has just undergone this surgery.

As medical science takes giant leaps every day, it has also discovered new pain control methods for HPB surgery. Dr. N.S. Babu or their team should also not prescribe you medications because they may result in chronic opiate dependence.

After undergoing this tremendously complicated surgery, you as a patient or someone you know who is going to be a patient will be advised to go on an oral liquid diet and soft diet. As for the conditions, there will surely be a dietician/nutritionist who will instruct you more about the after-surgery diet.

If you are going to be up for the HPB surgery soon, make an honest effort to stay fit and active before it happens. Hope for the best too as this surgery is medically modernized and the surgeons conducting it only want the best outcomes for you.

Dr. N. S. Babu and their team has a dedicated and caring approach and will seek to find you the earliest appointment possible with one of the best HPB surgeon in Hyderabad – Dr. N. S. Babu for your needs. For more information about our comprehensive treatment options, or to request an appointment with the best gastro care clinic in Hyderabad. Call us on 9443355668.