The Whipple procedure is a technique of pancreaticoduodenectomy, or surgical removal of pancreatic cancer. It was named for American surgeon Dr. Allen Whipple who invented the procedure in 1935 and subsequently came up with multiple refinements to his technique.

The first resection for a periampullary cancer was performed by the German surgeon Kausch in 1909.

The Whipple procedure today is very similar to Whipple's original procedure. It consists of removal of the distal half of the stomach (antrectomy ), the gall bladder (cholecystectomy), the distal portion of the common bile duct (choledochectomy), the head of the pancreas, duodenum, proximal jejunum, and regional lymph nodes. Reconstruction consists of attaching the pancreas to the jejunum (pancreaticojejunostomy ) and attaching the common bile duct to the jejunum (choledochojejunostomy ) to allow digestive juices and bile to flow into the gastrointestinal tract and attaching the stomach to the jejunum (gastrojejunostomy ) to allow food to pass through.

Originally performed in a two-step process, Whipple refined his technique in 1940 into a one-step operation.

Using modern operating techniques, mortality from a Whipple procedure is around 2%.