Our care team will provide a full evaluation to decide whether TPIAT is the best way to treat your child’s pancreatic problems. We first want to give an overview about what the pancreas is supposed to do. We want to explain how TPIAT may help people who are suffering from acute recurrent pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis.
The evaluation visit can be time consuming. It usually takes multiple days to complete. It can include appointments with:
- Gastroenterology (GI)
- Surgery
- Endocrinology
- Pain Management
- Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology (BMCP)
- Physical Therapy
- Social Work
- Infectious Disease
During the evaluation, our care team will collect all the information we need about your child’s condition. It is a chance for our care team to get to know you and your family, and for you, to learn more about us. Our goals for this visit are:
- Get to know you and your child
- Evaluate your child’s cause for pancreatic disease and assess the severity of the disease
- Test the function of the pancreas
- Understand what you and your child can expect from our team
- Share our thoughts about your child’s pancreatic disease stage
- Give you and your child a chance to ask questions and share concerns
- Decide if further testing is needed
- Determine whether TPIAT is a good option for your child
We will also want to make sure that you, your child and family know:
- Details of your child’s illness
- What TPIAT involves
- Risks, benefits, and both expected and unexpected outcomes of TPIAT
Your child will most likely need testing as part of the evaluation visit. These tests might include:
You will meet with the surgeon to talk about what the operation involves, what the surgeon expects the outcome to be, and what your child’s recovery will look like. You and your child will also meet with an infectious disease doctor. This is because the TPIAT operation involves removing your child’s spleen. It is important that your child has certain immunizations before the TPIAT to reduce the risk of getting a serious infection called sepsis. The infectious disease provider will discuss this with you.
After the evaluation is complete and all of your child’s test results are available, the PCC team will meet to decide what course of treatment is best for your child. The team will answer these questions before making a decision:
- What caused your child’s pancreatic disease?
- How severe is the disease?
- Will TPIAT improve your child’s quality of life?
- Are there any medical issues that may prevent a successful surgery?
- Are there any other treatment options besides a TPIAT that could benefit your child?
- Does your family have the support needed to get through the TPIAT process, including the hospital stay?
- Does your family have the resources needed to meet your child’s needs during this challenging time?
After the team finalizes the recommended treatment plan for your child, the gastroenterology nurse will contact you. The recommendation will be one of these options:
- Approved: Your child is a candidate for TPIAT. We can proceed with the scheduling process.
- Deferred: Your child is not a candidate for TPIAT at this time. The team will work with you and your child’s primary gastroenterologist (GI doctor) to create a treatment plan that does not include TPIAT for now.
- Decision Pending: Your child needs further testing or evaluation before the team can make the decision.
- Not a Candidate: The child is not a candidate for TPIAT.
The team will talk with you about other treatment options for your child. You will be able to talk with the doctor or nurse about the treatment recommendation and next steps.