Prof. Dr. Cătălin Copăescu has _doctor_9347_years_ of experience as Romania's most experienced robot-assisted Whipple surgeon. The procedure may cost around $44,000 – typically covering robot-assisted surgery, 8 days hospitalization, and preoperative diagnostics. Prof. Dr. Copăescu is the first surgeon in Romania certified by both European and American boards for metabolic surgery. Ponderas Academic Hospital holds JCI accreditation and is a Robotic Surgery Center of Excellence.
Ponderas Academic Hospital is a JCI-accredited private multi-specialty center in Bucharest. It holds 10 international accreditations including SRC and BSCE. Its main specialty is bariatric surgery.
Dr. Catalin Copaescu is the first surgeon in Romania to hold both European (IFSO-EC) and American (SRC) certifications in bariatric surgery. He serves as the Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence at Ponderas Academic Hospital. Dr. Copaescu performs over 1,000 minimally invasive procedures each year. He specializes in laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgeries for metabolic, colorectal, and hernia conditions.
Ponderas Academic Hospital is a JCI-accredited private multi-specialty center in Bucharest. It holds 10 international accreditations including SRC and BSCE. Its main specialty is bariatric surgery.
The operation removes parts of the pancreas, stomach, and bile ducts to treat pancreatic cancer.
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"},"476":{"operation":{"name":"Enucleation of tumor on pancreas","alias":"enucleation-of-tumor-on-pancreas","use_for_listing":true},"country_price":{"US":{"amount":45000,"max_amount":80000,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"},"TR":{"amount":10000,"max_amount":15500,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":3,"price_kind":"from_range","price_source":"tariff","scope":"country"},"TH":{"amount":9500,"max_amount":16500,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"},"AT":{"amount":17500,"max_amount":26000,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"}},"available_clinics":{"US":false,"TR":true,"TH":false,"AT":false},"description":"The procedure involves surgically removing pancreatic lumps, preserving organ function, and offering quicker recovery.
"},"727":{"operation":{"name":"Pancreatic cancer surgery ","alias":"pancreatic-cancer-surgery","use_for_listing":true},"country_price":{"US":{"amount":85000,"max_amount":135000,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"},"TR":{"amount":10000,"max_amount":15800,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":7,"price_kind":"from_range","price_source":"tariff","scope":"country"},"TH":{"amount":16000,"max_amount":30000,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"},"AT":{"amount":28000,"max_amount":46000,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":0,"price_kind":"estimate","price_source":"parsed","scope":"country"},"RO":{"amount":11100,"max_amount":14500,"currency":"USD","clinic_count":1,"price_kind":"from_range","price_source":"tariff","scope":"country"}},"available_clinics":{"US":false,"TR":true,"TH":false,"AT":false,"RO":true},"description":"The procedure removes malignant cells, aiming to alleviate symptoms, improve life quality, and increase survival rates.
"}}},"operationIndicators":{"details":{"anesthesia":"general","days_in_clinic":10,"days_in_country":30,"rehabilitation_days":60,"satisfied_percent":78,"treatment_duration_hours":6},"illness_kind_details":{"requests_processed":46119}},"responsibleDoctor":{"id":290,"alias":"yesim-yildirim","name":"Yesim Yildirim","photo":"doctor/699da18e34fa6","advisory_text":"20 years of experience\nMedical oncologist, ESMO certified","linkedin":"","specialities":[{"id":"onc.001","name":"Clinical oncologist","illness_kind_id":10}]},"direction":{"id":10,"name":"Oncology","alias":"oncology"},"illness_kind":{"id":10,"name":{"en":"Oncology"}},"parsed_details":{"procedure_type":"surgery","fields":{"anesthesia":["general"],"back_to_work_days":{"min":42,"max":90,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Typical for office-type work after open pancreaticoduodenectomy without major complications; longer if adjuvant chemotherapy is given or complications occur."},"complication_rate_pct":{"min":40,"max":60,"unit":"percent","qualifier":"Any complication within 90 days, including fistula and delayed gastric emptying; severe ones about 15-25%."},"contraindications":["Distant metastases or unresectable tumor (e.g., SMA/celiac encasement)","Prohibitive cardiopulmonary or other comorbidity risk","Uncorrected severe coagulopathy or active uncontrolled sepsis","Uncorrected severe malnutrition (relative; usually optimized first)"],"days_in_clinic":{"min":7,"max":14,"unit":"nights","qualifier":"Typical uncomplicated inpatient stay after open standard pancreaticoduodenectomy; prolonged with complications."},"diagnostic_duration_minutes":null,"diagnostic_preparation":null,"diagnostic_referral_needed":null,"diagnostic_result_time_hours":null,"exercise_resume_weeks":{"min":6,"max":12,"unit":"weeks","qualifier":"Light walking early; strenuous activity and heavy lifting usually avoided for about 6-12 weeks, guided by the surgeon."},"final_result_months":{"min":3,"max":6,"unit":"months","qualifier":"Time to full functional recovery, stable weight, digestion and enzyme needs; longer with complications or adjuvant chemotherapy."},"fly_home_after_days":{"min":14,"max":21,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Days after surgery; once drain removed, wound checked and surgeon clears travel; longer with complications."},"follow_up_visits":[{"purpose":"wound_check","requirement":"routine","after":{"min":7,"max":14,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Days after surgery; first postoperative check, usually shortly after discharge and before flying home."}},{"purpose":"result_review","requirement":"routine","after":{"min":14,"max":28,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Review of pathology results and planning of any adjuvant therapy."}},{"purpose":"assessment","requirement":"routine","after":{"min":60,"max":120,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Assessment of recovery, nutrition, digestive enzyme needs and glucose; ongoing oncologic surveillance depends on diagnosis."}}],"indications":["Resectable pancreatic head or uncinate process adenocarcinoma","Periampullary tumors: ampullary, distal bile duct and duodenal cancers","Pancreatic head neuroendocrine tumors or high-risk cysts (e.g., IPMN)","Chronic pancreatitis of the head with intractable pain or complications","Benign or premalignant head/duodenal lesions unsuitable for local resection"],"main_risks":["Postoperative pancreatic fistula","Delayed gastric emptying","Bleeding (including postpancreatectomy hemorrhage)","Intra-abdominal abscess, wound infection and sepsis","Bile leak or anastomotic leak","Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and new or worsened diabetes","Weight loss and malnutrition","Venous thromboembolism, cardiopulmonary complications","Need for reoperation or readmission; perioperative mortality"],"pain":"Moderate to severe abdominal pain in the first days, controlled with multimodal analgesia (often epidural or regional blocks plus oral/IV medication); gradually improves over 2-4 weeks.","preparation":["CT/MRI staging, tissue diagnosis, multidisciplinary review","Preoperative labs, cardiopulmonary and anesthetic assessment","Nutritional optimization; biliary drainage only if cholangitis or delay","Smoking and alcohol cessation","Fasting and bowel/skin preparation per hospital protocol","Counseling on expected recovery, diabetes and enzyme replacement"],"recovery_timeline":[{"phase":"Hospital stay (about 1-2 weeks)","description":"Monitoring, pain control, gradual diet advancement, drain management and early mobilization.","restrictions":["Nothing by mouth initially, then staged diet","Walking encouraged; no heavy exertion"]},{"phase":"Early home recovery (weeks 2-6)","description":"Fatigue, reduced appetite and digestive adjustment; small frequent meals, enzyme replacement if needed. 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Enzyme replacement or diabetes management may be lifelong.","revision_rate_pct":{"min":3,"max":10,"unit":"percent","qualifier":"Unplanned reoperation within 90 days, mainly for bleeding, leak or abscess."},"scars":"Open approach leaves a long upper abdominal midline or bilateral subcostal incision scar; laparoscopic or robotic approaches use several small scars plus one extraction incision.","sessions_or_stages":{"sessions":{"min":1,"max":1,"unit":"visits","qualifier":"Single operation with resection and reconstruction in one stage."},"stages":[{"code":"resection_reconstruction","label":"Resection of pancreatic head, duodenum, bile duct and gallbladder (with partial stomach in classic form) and reconstruction","after":{"min":0,"max":0,"unit":"days","qualifier":"Performed in one operation."}}],"qualifier":"Standalone single-stage operation; adjuvant therapy is separate."},"success":{"metric":"Survival to 90 days after surgery","value":97,"unit":"percent","horizon":"90 days","population":"Adults undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy at experienced high-volume centers","evidence_status":"limited"},"techniques":[{"name":"Classic Whipple (pancreaticoduodenectomy with distal gastrectomy)","suits_whom":"Patients whose tumor needs wider gastric resection.","recovery":"Open surgery; hospital stay about 1-2 weeks."},{"name":"Pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy","suits_whom":"Most patients with resectable periampullary or pancreatic head lesions where the pylorus can be preserved.","recovery":"Similar to standard open recovery; delayed gastric emptying possible."},{"name":"Minimally invasive (laparoscopic or robotic) pancreaticoduodenectomy","suits_whom":"Selected patients at experienced high-volume centers.","recovery":"Possibly smaller incisions; overall recovery broadly similar to open in many series."}],"treatment_conditions":["inpatient"],"treatment_duration_hours":{"min":4,"max":8,"unit":"hours","qualifier":"Operative time for standard open pancreaticoduodenectomy; longer with vascular resection or minimally invasive approach."},"initial_assessment_documents":["Contrast-enhanced pancreatic protocol CT scan","Abdominal MRI/MRCP report and images","Biopsy or EUS-FNA pathology report","CA 19-9 and liver function blood tests","Recent ECG and cardiopulmonary test reports","Prior oncology treatment records, if any"],"travel_trips":{"min":1,"max":2,"one_trip_possible":true,"qualifier":"Single-stage operation; stay 2-3 weeks including hospital and recovery. 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