So, I met with the surgeon Monday and he is really pushing to have an open surgery vs. laproscopic because he wants to see how things are inside my tummy. I can't say I fault him. I have PSC and some other complications so I totally agree with the thought that we should be on the safe side of things.

He's concerned with the very slight chance that the stricture in my gall bladder could possibly be a tumor and that the inflammation could potentially be cancerous so he's not inclined to go in and simply cut it up into small pieces and remove it via laproscopy.

I guess I'm just a little bummed and pissed that I am going through this right now but I definitely don't want to try going another 5 weeks to 'see if the inflammation goes down' so they can do it less invasively. He's not convinced it'll go down much anyway since my system is definitely way off *normal* at this point.

I know I'll be looking at a longer road to recovery than the other procedure but does this make sense to you all too?

My surgeon also really wants to get a look at the inflammation from my PSC because my liver function looks great right now but he wants to get a feel for the inflamed bile ducts and if he doesn't like what he sees he can do something about it right then and NOT at some later date.

Blarg. So I guess I just wanted to vent. For the most part over the past 6 years I've been very happy with my J-pouch but I have times where I am pissed because I ask myself questions like 'would I have developed PSC if my auto immune issues still had my colon to fight with' and other un-productive stuff like that. Anyway, just trying to count down the days until the 12th.

Thanks for listening.

Nothing like this is ever conveinent, and it always happens just as you start feeling so great. Good luck with your upcoming surgery, and I'll pray for you that its not anything cancerous.
Best of luck, Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers more than I can possibly express!

It seems to me that your surgeon is being very thorough and cautious and that's a good thing. I know it will be harder for you than laproscopic surgery, but in the long run, you'll feel better knowing that he went in and looked at everything. My surgeon just recently did exploratory surgery before he did my takedown. It's made for a longer recovery, but I do feel better knowing that he took a good look and checked to make sure everything was good.

Good Luck, and I'm sending prayers your way for a successful surgery and an easy recovery.

janna

I think you are wise to listen to the advice of your surgeon. I, too, have PSC and that can weigh heavy on my thoughts at times, no matter how hard I try to not let it bother me. I look at your situation like this:

Pros: Your surgeon gets a good look and can give you a better report on the state of things with an open surgery. That should give you some piece of mind when it's all finished and he says that things look good. Laproscopy couldn't give you as much peace of mind. If you wait 5 weeks and the inflammation is more than just inflammation, your treatment might not be as successful. Plus, you get a little bit more of the groovy narcotics-lol.

Cons: Longer recovery form surgey. Bigger scar.

In the big scheme of things, if I were in your position, I would option for the open right now. And get that peace of mind that all things PSC and inflammed gallbladder are okie dokey.

I'll be praying for a good outcome on the 12th. In the meantime, try to relax.

Rick

After trying for an hour to get in, Thomas's GB surgeon was unable to do his laparoscopically because of adhesions. His GB was huge, and the incision was the longest of any--so the first few days were rough, but overall, he recovered MUCH FASTER than from any of his three prior pouch-related surgeries. So hopefully this will not be as bad for you as you might think.

Awesome! Thank you so much everyone for your words of wisdom and kindness.

I 100 percent agree that it's a much better idea to have my surgeon go in sooner rather than later. So I'll just keep praying and waiting until the 12th and go from there.

I probably should mention that my surgeon thought about doing my surgery tomorrow too...but I'd be second on his docket that day and his first patient's surgery is quite a bit more complicated than mine. I trust his judgement that he wants me to be his 1st and biggest surgery of the day, so the 12th it is!

Thanks again everyone.