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@tomrennie
The stent opened the bile duct area that was being blocked by the tumor pressing on my bile duct. It’s like a tiny straw that is placed inside the duct to keep it open and make it easier for digestion . However the plastic stents would become clogged and needed to be surgically removed and replaced every few weeks prior. Any pressure in the vicinity where the stent was located had increased pain. afterwards. I had to have echo gram week prior to Whipple and was in pain for the whole week prior to surgery. When I would go for routine oncology exams prior to my Whipple surgery the doctor would press in the area of the mass which was also area of the stents and I would be in discomfort and pain all day.

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Replies to "@tomrennie The stent opened the bile duct area that was being blocked by the tumor pressing..."

@ellyou069 2 stents were removed during the Whipple. If I remember correctly. My brain isn't working right these days. I know my husband will remember all the details. One thing that was amusing is my son is situs inverses dextrocardia. The surgeon drew all the outline of his organs on his tummy. The surgeon had never seen this before. I am just doing the best I can.

@ellyou069 Thanks for the explanation. It does sound very painful. That is hard to work through. So the Whipple took care of the need for the stents? How does the belly band help?