Ask your doctor. I had my pouch revised and it works better now. I think a reconstruction would be a complete redo. Sometimes the doctors don't know what they are going to do until they get inside you. Good luck!

Barabie - did your revision repair the fistula, abscess? Great news that your revised pouch is working out!

Solomin, my dr. recommended a pouch "redo" - I do not know if this if this is technically a "reconstruction" or "revision". From what I could understand, she'd remove the pouch, possibly make the pouch larger, try to repair/remove the fistula, and then put it back together again. She emphasized it was a huge operation.

n/a
Sorry to reply so late, I don't check this site regularly. My fistula & abscess were in 94 & my revision was in 09. The last surgery was to correct incomplete emptying of my jpouch, which works fine now. The fistula & abscess were healed w antibiotics. The one abscess was drained in the hospital. Worst pain I ever felt! But I got thru it.

pouch revision is one of the painful things that you could ever wish for but the treatment is worth it as it could spare you with so many prolonged pains.

I had J Pouch revisions in 1998 and 2000 to correct a problem with emptying the pouch that was being caused by a "septum" that developed in the pouch. At the time it felt like my stool was hitting a wall and my pushing was ineffective. The surgeries relieved the problem and except for treatable pouchitis, I have had no problems emptying the pouch ever since the last surgery in 2000.

Hi CTBarrister,

What do you mean by "septum"? I seem to have similar problems as you describe.

Thanks,


Solomin

quote:

What do you mean by "septum"? I seem to have similar problems as you describe.

As it was explained to me, a wall developed in the pouch and the contents were not emptying because of it. My surgeon called it a "septum." I knew something was physically wrong with me because when I sat down and pushed it felt like the stool in my pouch was hitting something, like the natural pathway for stool out of the pouch was somehow blocked. The feeling was clearcut, I knew 100% I had a structural pouch issue. The problem was detected when I saw my surgeon and he manually scoped me in his office. I think what happened, although I never got a full explanation, is that a flap of pouch tissue that had been sewn shut somehow opened up and then adhered to the other side of the pouch, creating a wall or compartment within the pouch, within which stool was not emptying.

This was corrected by means of an outpatient surgery in 1998. The flap then came back, I had the same problem and it was corrected again with another outpatient surgery in 2000. Since then I have not had any structural issues with the pouch.

Hi,

Thanks for the information. I had a minor procedure (stapling) for what could have been the same issue as you, but the results did not change anything.

I am due to go in for surgery within the next few months to move to what I hope is a temporary ileostomy to see where my problems are - with the pouch or other issue.

Solomin