Whipple Options

Whipple Surgeons List

A while ago, I started a project to try to gather a list of Whipple surgeons around the country that had particular skill or expertise in this procedure. People from all over the country submitted their suggestions, and I want to thank everyone who helped with this project. Below you will find a list of the surgeons submitted, along with people's comments about these surgeons. Please Note: This list is not meant to be exhaustive nor is it meant to express any opinion about the skill or excellence of any physician on this list. It is merely a compilation of the suggestions people have sent us along with their comments. We currently don't have the resources to update this list, instead we rely on our users for help and feedback in keeping this list and its information current. If you wish to add a surgeon to the list or update any information on this list, please fill out our Whipple Surgeon Form. Why is there a need for this kind of list? Currently, without question the best treatment for anyone diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer is the Whipple Surgery. However, relatively few people are able to qualify for this surgery due to the advanced nature of their cancer. In talking to people about the surgery, it has become apparent that there may also be other factors that may determine whether a patient is able to have a successful Whipple. Foremost among these factors is quite simply the skill and experience of the surgeon. There is a perception that those surgeons who commonly do Whipple surgeries are not only more skilled, but they may also be able to perform a successful Whipple where other surgeons who perform the surgery less often would not. For example, my father had exploratory surgery to determine if he had Pancreatic Cancer, and if so, whether he could have a Whipple. The surgeons felt, after seeing his cancer, that they could not attempt the Whipple without killing him in the process. The question that later arose was, if he had instead decided to have the surgery at one of the cancer centers specializing in Whipple surgery (rather than by a surgeon in our home town), would these surgeons have been more skilled, aggressive, etc. so that perhaps they could have pulled off the Whipple procedure? I don't know the answer to this question, but in retrospect we did wish we had instead had the surgery at one of the major cancer centers where the surgeons did a hundred or more of these surgeries each year rather than just a few a year.

In light of our experiences, I felt it would be helpful to gather a list of the best Whipple surgeons around so that people struggling with this disease could have a ready source of information when deciding on a surgeon. Again, I thank all that participated in this project, and wish the best for those evaluating surgeons.

Whipple Surgeon Project List

The list is set forth alphabetically by state. The comments in quotes are the comments made by the individuals who submitted that surgeon for inclusion in the list.

California

Los Angeles
1. Dr. Howard A. Reber
UCLA, (800) UCLA MD1
http://www.surgery.medsch.ucla.edu/divisions/on/on.shtml
"Does many Whipple surgeries has done combination chemo with Dr Isacoff to shrink tumors to resectable size. "

Florida

Miami
1. Dr. Dido Francheschi
Sylvester Cancer Center, Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital
www.sylvester.org
"Has done dozens of surgeries, has a flair for the surgery, trained at Sloan Kettering. He is very dependable. "

Indianapolis

Indiana
1. Dr. Maurice Arregui
St. Vincent's Hospital, Nagan and Arregui, M.D., Inc., (317) 872-1158
www.stvincent.org/phydir/moreinfo.asp?physID=152
"Dr. Arregui performed the Whipple on my father Nov. 10, 1998 -- my father is now experiencing symptoms of reoccurrence but they cannot find the site yet. My father's tumor was 4 cm. n size and I do not feel every physician would have attempted the surgery. Thanks to the Dr. we have had another year with my father. I am a nurse and truly owe Dr. Arregui a lot."

Kansas

Topeka
1. Dr. James Hamilton
823 S.W. Mulvane, Topeka, KS 66606, 785 232 0444
"He saved my life! All tests were negative, but Dr. Hamilton's gut feeling was that I had pancreatic cancer. He operated, found the cancer, removed it, and performed a Whipple. I am now recovering."
Olathe
1. Dr. Harlan Opie
Olathe Medical Center (near Kansas City)
"An excellent Dr located at the Olathe Medical Center. He performed the Whipple procedure on me in July 1999."

Maryland

Baltimore
1. Dr. John Cameron
Johns Hopkins

Massachusetts

Boston
1. Jeffrey B. Matthews
jmatthew@caregroup.harvard.edu

New York

Buffalo
1. Dr. Ponds
Buffalo General Hospital
www.bgh.edu/facilities/hospitals/bgh/bgh.html
"My sister had the whipple at Buffalo General Hospital, by Dr. Ponds - she is still living after 7 and one half years."
New York City
1. Kenneth Eng
General Surgeon - NYU Medical Center 212 263 7301
"He performs about 2-3 Whipple's every month. Excellent reputation."
2. Dr. Fong
Memorial Sloan Kettering
3. Dr. Daniel Coit
Memorial Sloan Kettering
"It's amazing how fast things happen. we have found a doctor that, we are told, is the best at Pancreatic cancer surgery. Doctor Daniel Coit at Memorial Sloan Kettering."

North Carolina

Charlotte
1. Dr. Peter Turk
"We were pleased with his efforts and skill."
Durham
1. Dr. Douglas Tyler
Morris Clinic Cancer Center. 919-684-2137
"I had a Whipple performed at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC on August 9,1999. Before having surgery, I underwent an experimental trial using radiation(2xdaily,Morning & Afternoon)Mon.-Friday for 3 weeks, and chemo(Gemzar)at lunch on Mon. and Thursday between radiation treatments. So, to sum up I had 30 radiation treatments and 6 chemos, all in 3 weeks. After 2.5 weeks of rest during which time I was really sick, I had the Whipple procedure. Before surgery my oncologist, Dr. Herbert Hurwitz gave me Megace to pick up my appetite and it really helped me to gain some weight. Dr. Tyler performs approx. 50 each year. My doctors are great and I highly recommend them."

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia
1. Drs. Francis Rosato and Donna Barbot
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.
"I was referred to these surgeons by our "local" chief of surgery. 6 yrs ago they performed approx (only) 10 Whipple operations per year."

Ohio

Ohio State University
1. Dr. Ellison
"Dr. Ellison is highly regarded as the best. I had 5 centimeter tumor against a vein. A less skilled surgeon probably would have simply said inoperable. I am impressed with his skill and staff. "

Oregon

Portland
1.Dr. Brett Sheppard
Sheppard@ohsu.edu
"Although my husband,Wayne, lived only one year after his Whipple, the quality of his surgery at OHSU in Portland, OR was outstanding. My husband was able to function quite well,despite the radical surgery. We enjoyed our last year. I just wish it had been longer."

Texas

1. Drs. Douglas Evans and Peter Pisters
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, www.mdanderson.org
"Easily, Drs. Douglas Evans and Peter Pisters, both of M D Anderson Cancer Center. They perform 2/3 of all of the 250 Whipples per year. The mortality rate for Whipple: ZERO. They have also developed a new technique for performing this surgery with a vein resection if the portal vein is involved. They have the most experience with this technique. If you visit M D Anderson's pancreas page at http://www.mdanderson.org/DEPARTMENTS/pancreatic/default.htm and check their credentials under "specialists" you'll see the chapters they've written and their latest papers. M D Anderson is also doing a great deal of teaching in this realm."
Fort Worth
1. Dr. Peter Rutledge
"My mother, age 68, recently underwent a successful Whipple procedure in Fort Worth, Texas by a surgeon named Peter Rutledge. It is my understanding that he is the only surgeon, and if not, one of few who will do this surgery in Fort Worth. He is trained at Harvard and our experience with him has been that he is very competent and skilled. I believe he does 20-30 Whipple's per year. I do not know his success rate."
2. Dr. David Ritter
"Dr. David Ritter, having been recommended to us because of his previous experience performed the Whipple procedure on me (Don 76 years old) on Sept 28, 1997. I was greatly impressed by his surgical skills as well as his post-operative care. My oncologist recently told my that he had never seen anyone recover as quickly as I did from that operation. I heartily endorse this likeable and skillful young surgeon. He is now practicing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Is a graduate of the Baylor Med. School and Wash. U. in St. Louis."

Wisconsin

Milwaukee
1. Dr. Henry Pitt 2 submissions
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (formerly of Johns Hopkins)
"Dr. Henry Pitt contacted us while he was on vacation to discuss our issues and to set up the surgery. This man is extremely compassionate. While performing the Whipple, the tumor was semi-wrapped around the aorta. Instead of giving up, he regrouped and was able to detach the tumor and complete the surgery. An unbelievably warm and precise man. "
"My Whipple was done by Henry Pitt, M.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. I had tried to get in to see John Cameron at Hopkins, but he was swamped. Pitt was his Vice Chair of Surgery at Johns Hopkins and was recommended because of his humanity in addition to his technical skill and judgment. I have experienced non-compassionate physicians, notably at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and I am convinced that the entity created from the patient-physician relationship is profoundly important. Research by Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D. at Harvard has suggested that the efficacy of the "placebo effect" when both physician and patient believe in what they are doing can be as high as seventy percent even when the presumed physiologic explanation was subsequently disproven.!! While Chief of Surgery, Henry Pitt nonetheless performed his rounds as a caring being. His aggressive surgical approach to my "inoperable" islet cell tumor was very successful. Numerous cancer specialists had advised me that the correct "Board Exam answer" was to wait until a palliative procedure was necessary (i.e. a bowel obstruction). My own Dana Farber trained oncologist only backed my decision because of my aggressive state of mind to go in and debulk tumor mass even if a cure was not possible. Remember, this was NOT an adenocarcinoma, but an islet cell tumor which displays different biological characteristics. Pitt was my quarterback from the first kick-off. His (at least older) survival data was at the Johns Hopkins web site. "

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