Surgery is Over and All is Well

Jeff finished surgery about 15 mintues ago making it about a 10 hour surgery...whew what a long wait.

They removed the tail of Jeff's pancreas and his spleen leaving about 70% of the pancreas in tact, they also removed the "portal vein" tumors that were in the lymphnodes and not in the head of the pancrease, and did a biopsy of the liver. Dr. Royal said the tumors on the liver are dying and it looks like there is some scar tissue left. He also said that Jeff's stomach and intestines looked normal. The "portal vein" tumor (which we though was in the head of the pancreas but was actually outside the pancreas near the head) was much more involved than they expected but they worked their way through it and got it removed.

Jeff should be up in the ICU in about 15-30 minutes and resting comfortably. Dr. Royal said they were extubating him in the Recovery Room while we spoke (which was a good sign since they though he may have to be intubated overnight because of how long the surgery was). Jeff was given an epidural catheter to help manage the pain and I expect that he'll be able to rest virtually pain free until they remove the epidural in a few days. The physicians and nures will watch Jeff in the ICU for a couple of days before moving him back down to 3NW. Dr. Royal said they will need to watch Jeff's blood sugars very closely over the next few days as he may need insulin...that's a switch I know. Since the tumors are no longer producing insulin and his normal pancreas functions have probably stopped producing it because of the tumors, they will need to give him a little help until things go back to normal.

As promised, I will post everyday with an update. I don't expect to do more than say Hi to Jeff tonight, give him a long over due kiss, and let him know that you all are praying for him to have a speedy recovery before I turning in for the night. I know Jeff needs his rest if he's going to get better and back on the camping scene.