Postoperative changes, complications, and recurrent disease after Whipple's operation: CT features.

Whipple's operation consists of resection of the pancreatic head and duodenum, followed by pancreaticojejunostomy, choledochojejunostomy, and gastrojejunostomy or duodenojejunostomy. Indications include neoplasms of the periampullary region, symptomatic chronic pancreatitis, and, occasionally, trauma CT is useful in diagnosing postoperative complications and in detecting disease recurrence during long-term follow-up. This complex surgical procedure causes alterations of the normal anatomy, which may lead to difficulty interpreting images. Familiarity with the appearance of postoperative changes and common complications and with patterns of disease recurrence is a prerequisite to accurate interpretation of CT scans in these patients.