Now having a j-pouch which doctor shouldwe see for other pouch issues if surgery is not needed to your knowledge

It's your choice. I see my surgeon as I live in a small town and GIs here don't have pouch experience. My surgeon is 2 hours away, but it's worth the drive for the knowledge.

Sue

My surgeon told me I could go see him for whatever reason should arise. My GI dr. has experience with j pouches so I could see her as well. I kind of makes me feel better seeing my surgeon since he's the one that did all the work!

If your surgeon doesn't mind, then go to see him but I reserve my surgeon for the big questions/problems/worries...my GP or when I had a G.I. was for the reccurent stuff like pouch upsets, pouchitis, inflamation and scans...and the usual prescriptions on a day to day basis...that said you have to be sure that your G.I (if you manage to find one)knows about pouches and how to treat them...there are so few good j pouch (in my case K pouc surgeons) surgeons that I don't want to take up unnecessary apt time.
Sharon

My surgeon doesn't even do this surgery anymore (he's now head of the bariatric surgery department), and I haven't seen him since I had my incisional hernia repair 15 years ago. My GI takes care of all my needs, but that is fine with me. I don't miss the long waits to see the surgeon, even though I loved him!!

Jan

Oh man, you opened a can of worms. There's a big debate on the board with this. Personally for me it comes down to who has the best experience with the pouch. If you're in a well developed area my personal approach is to see a GI. GIs treat and surgeons cut. Unfortunately not everyone has that luxury, for example if they live in a more rural area. In those cases the surgeon might be the most knowledgeable on the pouch.

You should go to who you feel most comfortable with and who has the most knowledge of pouch problems.

I quess it depends on who you ask. Surgeon that did last surgery says only need to see Surgeon. They make them so they know more about them. I think Mayo in Jax. Fl you can make an appt. for either but in MN. I think you start seeing GI and then if surgery is needed then you see surgeon. I just thought I would see what others have experienced in this area. THANKS!

Yep, definitely one of those "no one right answer" sort of things. It all depends on what your needs and resources are. Even when my surgeon was still doing these surgeries, he told me it was up to me if I wanted to follow up with him or my GI. Of course, that was before I developed medical issues that were out of his scope of practice. The fact that he did not do fiberoptics sort of made my mind up.

Jan

In my case, after my first two bouts of pouchitis, my surgeon referred me to his GI and wouldn't see me anymore (unless it was surgery related). He was a great surgeon, but he had never had a patient with chronic pouchitis, and didn't know how to treat me. My GI had so much more knowledge of pouchitis, was more attentive, and much easier to see.