K Pouch Surgery

You might want to explore the BCIR....a version of the K-pouch. It is done in St. Petersburg, Florida. ( I think one recovers in the hospital for 21 days. ) Everything works like the K-pouch - except the BCIR has an enhanced technique that may make the valve less likely to fail. I have a K-pouch, but would seriously consider the BCIR if I were starting over.

Check out    www.BCIR.com    They have an informative website.

Thank you for responding Bodoni. I am going to check out the site now. Have you had problems with your K pouch?

You are fortunate that your surgeon suggested the k pouch to eliminate the problems that you are having with your ileostomy. I have a BCIR that replaced a failed j pouch almost 3 years ago. My surgery was done by Dr. Ernest Rehnke in St. Petersburg, Fl. He is an excellent and compassionate surgeon and the care I received at the hospital was first class. Following the customary 21 days in the hospital, I made the 12 hour trip home with no problems. I had a couple episodes of pouchitis and some minor valve leakage for a couple of months after returning home, but that cleared up and I have had no problems since. By 4 months post-op, I was back to normal.

The BCIR web site (www.bcir.com) has an excellent video about the procedure and a phone number where you can request a packet with additional information and a list of over 300 people with BCIR’s who you can contact about their experiences with the procedure. Another informative web site is the Quality Life Association (www.qlq-ostomy.org), a non-profit organization for people with continent ostomies. You should ask your surgeon if you could go right to the k pouch or BCIR and not have the stoma revision and thereby have one operation instead of two. Please feel free to send me a PM through this forum if you have any questions.

Bill

Sometimes I get a bit of pouchitis. That is rare and clears up with a couple of weeks of Flagyl, an antibiotic. The valve I have now does leak a little. However, I would not consider surgery unless it gets a lot worse. As you know, there is no guarantee any of these procedures will work perfectly. We just hope for the best. 

Thank you BillV for responding and for the information.  I was able to watch the video on BCIR. Thanks to you and Bodoni. I sent you a PM.

Also, my surgeon would prefer for me to do the K pouch and not do another revision. But, I wanted to do my research on the procedure first but I am struggling with the pain and leakage. So I may have to left her revised my stoma since it is retracting more into my flush. If I choose the surgery, I was going to wait a year due to I would have to travel outside of the state.

H Sunshyne,

I have had a k pouch for about 36yrs now...it is a delicate surgery and needs to be preformed by an experienced surgeon who knows what he/she is doing...there are not a lot of them out there.

It has a lot of advantages over a j  pouch or ileo if your sphincter is not reliable.

You saw the video so you understand. The k pouch and Bcir are almost identical other than the reinforcement of the valve that is a trademarked procedure for Bcir. A lot of k pouch surgeons do their own version of wraping the valve to give the it more security and stability. Both are wonderful procedures.

Generally it boils down to proximity (you do not want to have to travel too far if at all possible) and costs...Sometimes your insurance will cover one but not the other (don't know why)...

If you have any specific questions you can PM us and we can go into more detail of the pros and cons of the surgery and the post op life.

Hope that this works out well for you

Sharon

Hi Sunshyne89.

I had a failed j-pouch and now have had the BCIR since 1999. Yes, I've had pretty chronic pouchitis, and the anemia and vitamin deficiencies that everyone deals with.  I've been managing pretty well though until now. I've had all kinds of tests and we can't find the source of my excruciating pain. I'm actually considering the ileostomy, as I just want to get on with my life. I'm disheartening to hear that your ileostomy was so problematic. Oh to just have a healthy colon!

Good luck. I hope that your issues will clear up soon. Just so you know,  I have a friend who has the BCIR after a failed j-pouch and then an ileostomy and is really happy with it. She just loves it.  I hope you'll have the same results.

Thank you Sharon and Teresalg. This information has been very helpful. I am still doing some research and I am not sure which route I will take. I had a  bowel obstruction, hernia repair and ileostomy revision in 2015, total colectomy in 2014, polypectomy in 2014, gall bladder removal in 2013 and have had several other surgeries not related to digestive issues. I am a 7 year brain tumor survivor as well. So I definitely want to make sure I make the best decision for my body. Though Florida is closer to me, my surgeon is recommending the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.