All types of operations I could choose from

I thought this room would be best to ask.

I've always had UC in about the last 6 inches or so of my colon. Has come an gone for the last 35 years or so. Usually it is borderline proctitis. Sometimes it's gotten worse (more than just the 6 inches), and other times not so bad.

Can someone name all the types of operations (if I chose to do so) that would work for me? The whole area is confusing for me. No major details needed, but looking for names of surgeries.

Thanks,
John

yeah. i think there's only two:

colectomy with permanent end ileostomy

colectomy with temp ileostomy and then ileostomy reversal for the j-pouch

Keep hoping....maybe one day here will be a better option!

Yeah. If you were hoping for just a few inches of surgery I don't think that is realistic.

Interesting Sue. That's what one of my GI's said years ago - It has to be the whole colon.

JohnPhx said...
I was just reading about the j-pouch (after 6 months still going 6 times per day....uh no thanks!).

From what I am told, you cannot think of going 6 times a day with a j-pouch in the same way as going 6 times a day with uc. The biggest difference with the j-pouch is there is no urgency, so you can hold it a long time before having to evacuate. With active uc inflammation, urgency is our biggest problem.

But as bananagirl said, a small intestine is never meant to act as a colon. So, you have 4-6, non-urgent poops a day, each of them spread sporadically throughout the day and night. Some j-pouchers make it through the night without having to go to the bathroom, other have to wake up to empty out. Emptying out is often done when you pee, and it is a very quick process. Depending on where you are with your uc symptoms, a jpouch could be an improvement, for some it would be a tradeoff with pros/cons.

Surgery is something about 20% of us need to face someday with uc. If you are curious, then hit up a few blogs of those who have experienced the surgery. I would also recommend you ask your GI for a referral for a surgery consultation with someone who does this sort of thing. The consultation is just that, you get your questions answered from those in-the-know, and it is by no means an obligation for surgery. Here's an example of a blog, there are many others out there:

http://ronnielee-fightingforit.blogspot.com/2012/11/about-bag.html

John, why are you asking about surgery if you are only on the meslamine pills and enemas? As many, not all, try the hardcore stuff before that: immunosuppressants (6mp, imuran, aza) and biologics (remi, humira, etc.).

If it is just curiosity then that's okay. It is something you should be aware of, read up on, and research just like any other part of this disease. Lol I've always thought of it this way: I want to know everything I can know about this disease in advance, so I have as few surprises as possible. That if I am sick in a hospital bed and a dr says I need surgery now then at least I'll know beforehand what that entails, risks, impact on my quality of life, and so forth.

And NCOT is right that results can not be promised, and some surgeries do turn out bad. The odds are pretty low though, like 5% or less.

Interesting. Thanks all.

iP I've been on the hardcore stuff in the past (6mp, pred). 35 years of this I've seen some bad times, believe me. Only twice in the hospital though.

I got the information I need from these posts. Happy it worked out for you PSU. Thanks.