10. Whipple Procedure for pancreatic cancer
In 1935, Allen O. Whipple of Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons, published a report with his colleagues on a new procedure to help patients with pancreatic cancer called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as the Whipple Procedure. The Whipple Procedure involves removing the widest part of the pancreas, the duodenum of the small intestine, the gallbladder, and the bile duct, then reconnecting the remaining organs to the digestive tract.
The Whipple procedure remains the most common operation for pancreatic cancer patients, and although it is a risky procedure, it saves hundreds of lives per year.