Surgery to remove the body and the tail of the pancreas. The spleen may also be removed. A distal pancreatectomy is usually done to remove benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer) pancreatic tumors found in the body or tail of the pancreas, but it may also be done to treat chronic pancreatitis and injuries to the pancreas.
( DIS-tul PAN-kree-uh-TEK-toh-mee )
Source: NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
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