Advantages and disadvantages of bypass surgery
Bypass surgery is a big operation, so it’s important to talk to your surgeon about the pros and cons before you decide to have this surgery. Ask them any questions you have.
Advantages
- The surgery bypasses the blockage and should help your symptoms.
- It may be an option if a stent is not suitable for you.
- Bypass surgery avoids the problem of stents getting blocked.
- It is a longer lasting way to treat your symptoms.
Disadvantages
- You may have some side effects, but there are usually ways to manage these.
- You may need to stay in hospital for a few days after bypass surgery, and it may take a few months to fully recover.
- Problems after surgery are more likely than with stents.
Bypass surgery for pancreatic cancer is major surgery, and as with any major surgery, there are possible risks.
- There is a risk of your wound getting infected – you will be given antibiotics when you have your surgery to reduce this risk.
- With all surgery there is a risk that you may have some bleeding during the operation and need a blood transfusion to replace the blood lost. This is not very common and will be done during the operation.
- There are risks to having a general anaesthetic (medicines that put you to sleep so you don’t feel pain during surgery). These include blood clots in a vein (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) or an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic. But these are very rare.
- There is a small risk of dying from the surgery.
