NCH patient enjoys second chance at life

Ann Zigrossi was told time and again that she didn't have a fighting chance against her illness – that nothing could be done. The 47-year-old mother of two was left with a death sentence and without hope.

Zigrossi suffered from a severe case of pancreatitis, in which a large benign mass growing on her pancreas was causing the organ to malfunction. Her condition was terminal. She searched for hope at respected medical centers in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Texas, painstakingly copying her records, making appointments, scheduling tests and ultimately depleting her life savings as she became weaker.

“The surgeons said there was nothing anyone could do because of the location of the mass,” Zigrossi said. “It settled on the main blood supply to my body, kinking it like a hose and crushing my bile duct so nothing was flowing through. That was it for me. I lost hope. I couldn't take another test, another needle, another rejection.”

Almost like an act of fate, Zigrossi's sister-in-law happened upon a newspaper article one morning that described the life-saving pancreas surgeries performed by Dr. Malcolm Bilimoria at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. Reluctant to go at first, Zigrossi finally agreed to see one last doctor.

Dr. Bilimoria is nationally renowned for his surgical skill, successfully tackling dire cases that other top surgeons deem inoperable. “Ann had chronic pancreatitis that was so severe and so unrelenting that it consumed her life – she was living pain pill to pain pill,” he said.

Dr. Bilimoria's intricate surgeries are complemented by the work of NCH gastroenterologist Dr. Willis Parsons, who accurately assessed Zigrossi's tumor. (Both physicians are ranked as experts in their field by the Consumers' Guide to Top Doctors.) Dr. Parsons performed an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which involves a flexible scope to look at digestive system functions, like bile ducts.

As a result, stents were placed in Zigrossi's pancreatic ducts to expand those passageways, and she was put on intravenous feeding to build her strength. Then on Aug. 13, 2010, Dr. Bilimoria performed a Whipple procedure to remove the mass, and completed a portal vein reconstruction. Both are highly difficult procedures.

Now, one year after the complex pancreas surgery that saved her life, Zigrossi has no pain and is back to enjoying her life. She carries with her a laminated copy of the newspaper article that started her road to recovery.

“I can't find the words to describe what Northwest Community Hospital did for me,” she said. “They embraced me, cared for me, and saved my life.”