Having enough bowel for the procedure

[kaye]

Have you or your doctors had any concerns about you not having enough small bowel for the k-pouch, especially if it fails and you need to return to an ileostomy? My doctor mentioned it, but I thought that most people with k-pouches or BCIRs actually had j-pouches removed earlier on. I actually thought there were people out there living without a significant amount of small bowel and doing just fine.

[bcirray]

As to your first question about having enough small bowel. Failure ' in my case of a BCIR' came about because of fistula's compromising the valve and bladder. It was replaced with a new BCIR made from another 3 - 4 foot of my small bowel. It is the concensus that three rebuilt "pouches might be the upper limit of small bowel useage because of putting the patient at risk to small bowel syndrome (not able to absorb the needed nutrients). Pouchers, whether they be urinary, BCIR, k-pouch, or j-pouch all have the above concern.
Not true about how patients ended up with a BCIR or k-pouch after having a j-pouch. I was a conversion from an ileostomy, some go staight to a BCIR or k-pouch from having Ulcerative colitus, and some are conversions from a failed j-pouch.

Most people are born with 20 - 24 feet of small bowel and doctors don't like to go under the 15 feet length.

Ray

p.s. Are there other concerns that I can help you with? E-mail me.