Jo Lierz

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In June, Mom thought she had a stomach bug that would just never go away. After 2 stays in the hospital, it's been identified that she has cysts all over her pancreas with the cysts on the head of the pancreas causing an external obstruction to her common bile duct. She also has a blockage in her bile duct that now has a stent in place to keep it open. A biopsy of the cysts show atypical cells, but not definitive cancer.  Samples of the duct blockage were inconclusive. We met with Dr Vargas at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on July 13.  He is a specialist in gastrointestinal surgery. Mom will be admitted to UNMC this Friday morning, July 20, for surgery. It is called a Whipple procedure. The head of her pancreas will be removed and her "plumbing" will be rerouted. Dr Vargas will test the tail of the pancreas for cancer cells while she's in surgery. If there is cancer, he will take more of the pancreas. If not, he will leave that alone for now and she will have close monitoring for changes in the future. It is a big surgery and she will be in the hospital for 7-10 days. I will keep you updated after surgery and during her recovery. Thank you for all of your prayers!