Hi,
As part of my future KPouch surgery, I have been given a couple of options. I'm hoping to have the JPouch converted to a KPouch to save small bowel. Though, if it's unusable, from being too poorly constructed in the first place..even as a JPouch...the second choice is to rip it out, and create a fresh KPouch from scratch.
Obviously my main fear is, how is my health going to be after this. Not so much with nutrient absorption as that part of the small bowel doesn't have a lot of responsibility in that area luckily. I mean I can always have B12 shots for example, or the 'under the tongue' B12 tablets I take now may be just as effective. But what i'm more worried about is water absorption, increased dehydration, eventual kidney damage. Those things concern me more.
Then there's another 15cm that will have to be wasted that's sitting above the old jpouch.. I asked at the time of getting the last end ileo, to cut the bowel as close to the soon to be unused jpouch as possible, but had to accept the cut being made around 15cm or so higher....I wasn't in the position to argue, as I was fighting pain levels at the time that almost took me from this life. Now it appears that 15cm will be unusable and be thrown away as it will be too short to be good for anything regardless of what option I choose with surgery.....more wasted healthy bowel. This wasn't caused by the KPouch surgeon that i'm hoping to go through by the way. If only i'd seen him sooner, my future health would have been greatly improved. Such is life.
So, I'd really love to hear from people who've had to have an old JPouch/KPouch/BCIR taken out completely, and a new one put in. That includes a second KPouch/BCIR or JPouch put in actually. Or Crohns people who have JPouches or KPouches/BCIR's that have had other parts of their small bowel resected in the past, especially if those resections have taken out 40cm or so of small bowel along your journey.
Thank you,
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