Heh, So i just got back from my post-op visit with Fazio (was my 1 yr follow up, even though it was technically a bit over a year)
And i was saying i wasn't having a hard time getting the cath in, but that it wasn't going in all the way, and it took along time, etc.

Well, they watched me intubate, and basically Fazio said "you're being a baby. Don't be so timid"

heh, he then proceeded to jam the catheter in my stomach repeatedly..... okay, so maybe he didn't stab me with my own catheter, but he certainly did just slip it right in, and proceeded to pull it out and push it in over and over.
of course, he did have me lay on my back. which is just not feasible in a public bathroom.
My mom said the look on my face was hilarious and i just stared incredulously at the cath and then at him going "oh my god did you see that?!?"
he was twisting and turning and angling it. I would NEVER be that rough with it. He also said he thinks the catheter i have is a bit too big (which i knew it was, but i like it, it's nice and flexible, and long, and that helps in not making a mess when flushing.)
i'm not sure if i'm ready to go back to the marlen. i have a ton of em i ordered from awhiles back but haven't been using them.

soooo...i guess we'll see.

but i also got the green light that my pouch was all pristine and pretty inside and looking good. i got my little snapshots from the scope, fun.

good to know i'm still good to go. whew!

Congratulations!
Becca...you can cut the cath the length you want it to be

no no....i mean i want the marlen to be longer. it is too short for me
the one i'm using is the weber-judd, and it's alot longer, which i like.

i am still amazed that i apparently was being way too gentle and slow and timid putting the cath in.
my mom is still laughing at the look on my face I had.

I guess we both have witnessed the "real" Dr. Fazio. After my original k-pouch surgery when he watched me intubate, he said "Don't be a wimp!" since I was brand new to the situation and was being kind of tenuous.

More recently after my second surgery with Dr. Fazio during which he fixed a hernia near my stoma I again had to intubate in front of him (since the angle had changed a bit) and I reminded him of his "Don't be a wimp" statement. He chuckled and said "I was kind of brutal, wasn't I."

Actually, when intubating is a little tricky for me (rarely and for no apparant reason), I repeat those words, "Don't be a wimp" and keep trying. So far, I've always been successful.

I think it's understandable that since we've all gone through a whole lot of research and trouble to get a k-pouch, and that the valve seems precious to each of us, we don't want to damage it by being too rough. But I think Dr. Fazio's real message, whether using the word "baby" or "wimp" is that the little valve is tougher than we think.

I've stuck with the marlen 30 french because I'm not very adventurous but I do try to remember not to be a "wimp." So far, so good.

I am just curious Lynnesa,
How did Fazio fix your Hernia. A major or minor fix up???
Sharon

In answer to SKN69, my hernia developed sometime after my k-pouch was created in 2003 (can't exactly remember) and I pointed it out to Dr. Fazio at some check-up appointment. He said to do nothing since complications might be worse than repair.

But then in 2006 I had to have my gall bladder removed after some attacks. A surgeon at Cleveland had a good track record of doing that via lapro even after various previous surgeries (90% success rate), so back I went for that surgery and checked in with Dr. Fazio who said he would repair the hernia as a second part of my gall bladder surgery.

I think the reason Fazio hadn't thought the surgery essential was that he saw my hernia when my pouch was completely empty, thanks to Cleveland's ET nurses, and so it hadn't seemed so big. But before I had to intubate I had noticed quite a bulge which he never saw.

Anyway, unlike the other CC surgeon, Fazio said he couldn't repair the hernia via lapro and so he did it from "outside." He used non-absorbing sutures. I'm not sure if he also used mesh. The surgical notes do not mention mesh. After the surgery he did say that it was good that he had done the repair because it was a "three-finger" hernia (I think that refers to the size) and that without repair I "might have lost my pouch." I guess the pouch might have popped through the hernia.

The hernia has not returned, the gall bladder was removed via lapro and I'm doing OK. One small snafu is that I have a "sinus" between my stoma and the adjacent skin, a little hole that goes nowhere but does exude a bit of mucous now and then. Dr. Fazio saw the sinus at a follow-up appointment and said to leave it alone unless it got worse or infected or something, which hasn't happened. In a follow up with a local colo-rectal surgeon, a couple of the blue plastic sutures were removed with a tweezer through the sinus--it didn't hurt but it was weird, like where did those come from? I felt like a kid when a magician "finds" a coin in ones ear! The sinus remains and I guess will always be there, but except for occasional twinges, it doesn't bother me. Dr. Fazio did cauterize the sinus and suggested that it could (should?) be cauterized a few times each year, but the local man said just to leave it alone, which is fine with me.

It was good to have both procedures done in one surgery. I stayed only two nights in the hospital and then two nights in the CC hotel before checking out. Compared to other surgeries, it was easy.

I read your posts and wish you well. I live over 500 miles from Cleveland, and that is worrisome enough. The fact that you live so far from Toronto must be scary. But then life in Paris (which I love to visit) must otherwise be wonderful. Recently my husband and I have made do with annual trips to St. Martin (Marigot) where I can try out my college French and have crepes sprinkled with sugar for every lunch.

Thank you for the reply Lynnesa,
I am hoping that one day (soon?) i will be well and able to organize some sort of "group trip" to Paris where we can all meet!
A pipe dream maybe but dreams are what life is made of!
I still don't know what is wrong, another hernia or a twist or kink...for the moment I have been advised to not extubate until further notice...whenever that may be.
I am still hoping to be able to keep my pouch.
It is so nice to know that others live with the same difficulties althought I would much prefer to have us all well...
Sharon

Hi Becca,

I will be having surgery for the K pouch next month. You seem to be the brave one with your pictures
I have seen only a few photos of stomas, but they all look different. I have a similar frame to yours. Can you please send a picture so I can show it to Dr. Launer?
Your help is much appreciated!

Christine

Christine - you might want to private message Becca because she doesn't seem to come here as often as she used to. But I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out.

kathy

Christine
I would email you a pic of my stoma.
not willing to go public
Where in Fl are you?

I live in Orlando.

anyone hear from becca lately?

I have been summoned and dug my way out of the snowy, slushy, blizzardy mess that is chicago to rejoin my fellow kpouchers!
CG, pm me your email or something and i'll gladly regail you with all my wonderful media on my little lady stella the stoma.
(actually, i think i'll start a new topic on something related to that shortly.)

(oh...and i've been m.i.a. at the boards mostly cuz...well...not having any major problems/issues! yaaaaaay)

That's stupendous news - that you're not having problems!

Hope you find that college money you're looking for. I'm sure you will. Not one little tiny thing will hold you down.

kathy