Dr Bo Schen good and bad experiences

I'm also curious about Shen.  Some people seem to think he's the god of j-pouchland.

I in the good experiences column.  I have 100% confidence in Dr. Shen.  I feel fortunate to have come under his care shortly after my surgery.  He has focused his practice on diagnosis and care of pouch problems his entire career.  I suspect no one has more experience.  

The work-up he did for me was thorough - anal manometery and defecogram before a diagnostic scope.  I've since had banding to treat mucosal prolapse and balloon dilation of an inlet stricture; both provided relief of symptoms.   I see him annually for screening (and banding if needed.) He meets with me before and after on days of each  procedure. And when I've wanted to talk to him between scopes his office schedules virtual appointments for me. His advice on diet and medication have been spot on.

What is a banding procedure?

I've got a "floppy pouch" issue - the lining gets droopy causing various problems.   Dr. Shen tightens the pouch in these areas during pouchoscopy with tiny bands - the same ones that are used to treat bleeds in the esophagus. You can't feel them and they fall off after they do their job. I think of it as a pouch facelift.  It has improved my pouch function each time.  

I have had a very positive experience with Dr. Shen. I have had my pouch since 1989, and was issue-free for 11 years, at which point pouchitis kicked in. My doctors put me on Cipro to control the pouchitis, and I was never able to get off of it for more than a month at a time. I was a patient at The Cleveland Clinic and I went to see my original surgeon (Lavery) in 2003 as a pre-op to have my pouch reversed - I couldn’t stand the side effects of Cipro any more. Dr. Lavery had me meet with Dr. Shen, and he put me on a new regimen of Sulfasalazine and Xifaxan - I have been on that for over 20 years now without any side effects….my only issue now is that Xifaxan seems to be on back order.  I followed Shen to Columbia and see him every 2 years. He has been great for me and I am thankful for him.  

Dr Shen is the only Dr I will go to for my pouch—here’s why.
I had my k-pouch for 8 years before I started having severe pain 2 hours after eating every meal . I  went to Laney clinic, palms hospital in st.petersburg fl ( where I had surgery, but they are no longer doing this surgery) and no one could find the problem. (Many cat scans and tests ) Finally got the appt with Dr Shen at Cleveland clinic and he found the problem immediately after a pouchoscopy. It was a fecalith—which is impacted stool that was blocking the food passing through. The fecalith was about 2 inches in size.  He said I was the 12th person in his 30 years of practice to have this. He set up a lithotripsy surgery with a urologist and colorectal surgeon. They were able to get it out by “blasting” the fecalith, just like a kidney stone. Then they used a basket to get out the pieces. I had this done at Cleveland Clinic in Weston Fl. Needless to say, this was the first time this urologist had done this on a pouch. Dr.Shen was not there, but basically organized it and talked to both surgeons.  
I will not go to any other GI dr for scopes. He is the best and has seen thousands of pouch patients. I told him he can’t retire!

Now I go to NY every year for a scope, because I don’t want to take a chance on developing another problem. If he sees something starting to develop, he can remove it before it gets too big.
He is the best!

Not crazy about Columbia hospital, but it’s a short visit and we leave immediately after the pouchoscopy. Have to stay one night in a hotel that is walking distance to the hospital.