I live in Fort Wayne and had my j-pouch surgeries done at the Cleveland Clinic, which is three hours from here. I don't know how many doctors in Indy are familiar with j-pouches. At one point when I had UC I went to Indy and saw Deborah Helper at the IU Med Center and she was very helpful. You could e-mail her and she would point you in the right direction.

I second contacting Dr. Helper. I have heard she is the best. I tried getting in to see her, but she had too long of a waiting list. I ended up seeing one of her colleagues who didn't know what he was doing. I ended up in the hospital twice because of his protocol. The good news was that after everything I went through I decided enough was enough and went to the Cleveland Clinic and now am much happier.

I wouldn't let anyone in Indiana touch my colon!

I highly recommend Dr Frederick Lane (St Francis - Indianapolis). I cannot say enough about not only his skill as a surgeon, his ability to answer all my questions but his office and staff always go out of their way to help me out with any needs I may have. Dr Lane seems to understand the issues, the pain, the frustration better than any GI doc I have seen over the years.

I would highly recomend Dr. Monika Fischer with IU Hospital as a specialist. She is VERY thorough every time I visit her and she explains things so well and makes you feel comfortable. For my surgeries I had Dr. Brian Holcomb with IU Hospital and he has been amazing as well. Very attentive and listens to all my issues. When I was dealing with pain he made sure to help keep it under control. He has a great supporting staff as well (minus his secretary she frustrated me alot with scheduling). Since IU Hospital is a training hospital there are many residents also. Some may not like that but for me it was nice. More people working together to figure out my problems.

I am looking for additional recommendations in Indianapolis. Has anyone heard of Dr.Robb - good or bad?

LisaQH - Did Monica recommend only Dr.Holcomb to you? What about Dr.Robb. I go to her also.

Dr. Holcomb and Dr. Robb were partners when I had my surgery. Dr. Holcomb performed both my surgeries but Dr. Robb was my attending physician after my second surgery because Holcomb was scheduled for vacation the following day. My preference was Dr. Holcomb only because he was who I seen regularly. I had a few frustrations with Dr. Robb after I left the hospital only because I was in pain and only called 24 hours before my last dose and it took them 2 days to call in my refill. That was VERY frustrating.

However, when I had my surgery I was told Dr. Robb was the top surgeon to see. He was attentive and knowledgeable when I was in the hospital and was seen by him.

Thank you for the quick reply LisaQH!