kim-- dr dietz did my surgery when he was at cleveland clinic. i was very pleased with him and my care there. super ostomy nurses. he is now at university hospital, also in cleveland. i would highly recommend you get a consult from him to help line up the pros and cons. i did and he was very helpful. also, somewhere on this site i posted an article he had co-authored.
i'm in boston and couldn't get a doc to do the surgery, much less encourage me. one has since come around and has suggested the option to other patients.
at times i get frustrated with the k pouch, mostly over my food choices and a lingering hernia (i think that's what it is, going to doc soon.) it takes more time out of my day, but that might be me and my habits--again my food choices, which tend towards thick output. traveling in countries w squatter toilets adds extra challenges, but provides funny memories about them! at the end of the day, so to speak, i come down on favoring the k over external bag.
you can pm me if you have specific questions, but feel free to ask more on site. i think the more info we have on the site the better off our community is. keep us posted please,
i too use an enema bottle when outside the house. for those uncomfortable filling it up in public you could try filling a water bottle and then filling the enema bottle when in the stall. once i worked out a routine for using a public bathroom the frustration went away. as for washing out the catheter i figure nobody knows what it is used for and i've never been asked. i also think that the more comfortable i am with what i'm doing then the less likely people will notice.
janet