Pouchoscopy advice

Kate,

I've had several pouchoscopies in the past 2 years. In fact I have anouther one day this Thursday. Without exception, I wake up from general anesthesia with no pain from the procedure, and walk out feeling as good as when I walked in.

So far, no pouchitis - just some irritation near the cuff, which they feel is from not being able to empty the pouch thoroughly enough due to stricture. They will probably take biopsies to take a close look at the cell structure, which gives them a good idea of how the pouch is doing.

They look for abnormalities - anything that is not healthy pink tissue.

Ask your doctor to take give you some pictures of what he finds. I've been given CD's and printouts of the pouch.

Don't be paranoid about anything left in your intestine after you do your prep. They can "vacuum" that right up no problem.

Good luck!

David

They are looking for ulcers, inflammation and will biopy your rectal cuff which is where cancer would most likely strike, since it is the one part of the diseased organ that is left in. If you were a dysplasia case pre-colectomy, it is imperative that the rectal cuff be biopsied regularly (I have been told annually for those like me who were dysplasia cases pre-colectomy).

Make sure you do the prep and are clear. Good luck.

Ditto what DJB has said. I have had several pouchoscopies in the last two years and they are nothing to get alarmed about (much easier to prep for than colonoscopy). I would not even get alarmed if they see some inflammation in your pouch as most pouches have them. I also have a couple of small ulcers in mine, but manage on and off cipro due to some ongoing pouchitis issues and I have ongoing inflammation in my cuff also that is being watched.

Make sure you ask for a report and pictures. They can usually see visible inflammation at the time they do the pouch but always take biopsies to confirm.