In Sunday's Parade there is sometimes an advertisement for the BCIR center in St.Petersburg.
I used to get offended that the BCIR center advertised their"product".
But I have to tell you..after thinking about it..
for someone with UC who is considering surgery for whatever the reasons..failed jpouch,no longer wanting an end ileo..seeing this ad opens up an option that maybe their doctor wasn't forthcoming with that they are able to explore on their own.
Chances are, if someone gets on the internet to look into the BCIR, they will also discover the other options that are available.

on my part; changes in attitude

I can see your point.Although when you say patients with UC I don't think that should be the source of their information. Failed j pouches or people with ostomies is a different circumstance altogether.
Why is it that more surgery centers that offer lapro, k pouch, j pouch ostomy, don't advertise?Cost?St Anthony;s advertises that they offer all options.

BCIR does not offer options, just an alternative. They do not do j pouches or ostomies or lapro as far as I know.
A patient with UC who is targeted by their aggressive marketing is basically told j pouches are not the best option, which may or may not be true but they only do one type of surgery.
It is not the advertising that ever offended me but the tactics used in recruiting patients and not being forthcoming about other options if they were available.

I must not have been clear.
When I said that if someone gets onto the internet to look into BCIR...and they start googling..chances are they will discover Jpouches, Kocks maybe even discussions boards like this where they can discover treatments, options, doctors, etc.
The option isn't necessarily the BCIR.The option might be based on info learned during research.

I have had this discussion with someone recently. When one types in bcir in a google search that is all that comes up.
They have paid alot of money to Google ads to be on top and also all the first page. Not too many people go further than 1 page in a search.
I just scrolled through 3 pages and all I found was BCIR and one of our threads from j pouch.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: "Holly2",

I have a BCIR and I am very pleased with the freedom it has given me. I converted from a j-pouch and experienced an ileostomy on a temporary basis. If you check my old posts, you see I always said that the important thing is that we have options. I just visited the BCIR website and they mention all options (although they only perform the BCIR). One of the questions under the Q&A tab is: Who is a candidate? 1) Individuals who have problems associated with the conventional ileostomy. 2) Individuals who have a failed continent (K) pouch, failed ileal pouch and anastomosis or other similar procedure and 3) Individuals with poor sphincter control and are therefore judged not bo be a candidate for the IPPA or who elect not to have an IPPA. I also looked at their links page and noticed that www.j-pouch.org was listed.

I think the crime or on the verge of malpractice is when a doctor does not tell you about a continent pouch such as K or BCIR when you are contemplating removal of your j-pouch. It happened to me, and thank god for advertising. I can not tell you how many people I have chatted with on these various boards that did not know they had an alternative other than an ileostomy because of apathy in the medical community.

Palms of Pasadena Hospital and their team have an excellent reputation. They only perform the BCIR but on the other hand there are other programs that only perform the j-pouch. Does that mean they are not reputable or they do not offer a possible solution?

Advertisement - its been a topic debated for a long time in the health profession as well as others. In my particular situation, it was a life saver as the ad brought me to the internet. The BCIR program is not the only program spending money to advertise. I just was looking at a site of a lady in Canada who had a BCIR and sure enough, Dr. Shores program had a paid google word ad. Also I read there is someone on this site whose son is featured in their ad. Whats good for one is good for another.

I know this is going to be perceived as a defensive post. It is not meant that way. I am thrilled that we have options. God Bless - Ellen

I googled and found this article. BCIR Very informative.

nys

Ellen,
Yes, my son Chris was asked to pose for St Anthony's brochure and it has been great for young people who see him active without an ostomy and that they have choices. Chris is also in their ad in the Phoenix Magazine.That all came about when he was having surgery #9 and it was an incredible boost for his self esteem.

There are also 2 former Palms patients who have posed for St Anthony's brochure for Continent Internal Reservoirs.

I have no objection to advertising. Recruiting UC patients and telling them j pouches are awful and fail frequently is not advertising.

My husband personally took Chris to consult with Dr Rehnke before choosing Dr Fazio.
They toured the hospital. It was much closer, however, we chose Cleveland.
They met and spoke to several patients while there.
I agree, Drs who do not tell patients about options when removing j pouches or when j pouch is just not an option are shameless.

I do not see your post as defensive.
We all have different experiences and outcomes and opinions.
I appreciate your input in the discussion.
I am happy you are doing so well and that your experience was a good one.That is what we all hope for.I am lucky that my j pouch has lasted 20 years.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: "Holly2",

Ellen, the reality is, you and most of us who post here have a continent ostomy.
If we all share our info, what a wonderful source of information we would be (are!)
That is the purpose of this forum. I wish when I had my first pouch , there was a source like this available (don't know if there was internet so long ago )

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lesrich1,

Yes, the procedure was performed by Barnett, hence Barnett Continent Ileal Reservoir. not rehnke or Palms pouch
They named their FRANCHISE after Barnett.
and Nils Kock-hence Kock pouch.
They are both basically the same, however, Barnett version uses a living collar which may be true of Kock now too that it has been perfected by Dr Fazio and others.Not called a Fazio pouch or Cleveland Clinic pouch.
The key word here is FRANCHISE.
There are only 2 or 3 in the country, unlike surgeons who perform the procedure who are growing in numbers.