They could not leave a cuff because my entire colon and rectum were so bad. BUT GOOD NEWS: Doing self-dilation is not so bad. While a bit uncomfortable, it is more embarrassing than anything have to go into the bedroom and tell my wife to not come in till I'm done. I bought the full set of Hegar stainless steel Dilators on Amazon, which start with a very small size, like maybe 8mm and worked my way up to the largest size, 18mm (which is why the Gi guys do when they dilate you, and is the standard), starting with a 10mm, every night, at first and every few days going up one mm, till I got to the 18mm level. Now, I just do it once a week. You need surgical, or what they call personal lube (like K-Y Gell). Lie on the floor with some Kleenex nearby, on your left side with your legs drawn up, and slide the well-lubed dilator in, turning it a little bit as you go. when you reach the top of the anus, where the stricture is , press the dilator toward your tailbone, and you should feel it pop through into the J-pouch. I hold/leave it there for three minutes and then pull it out. It may have a little blood on it but that shouldn't be a big deal. That's it! Be brave and try it. You can do it! It beats ending up with a colostomy!