To Bert and

[Guest guest]

Hello!

I'm not quite sure why the ICT is not done at this particular

hospital. There are hospitals where auto ICT has been done, as part

of work on diabetes, but I think

it's still regarded as experimental. I'll ask more about that this

Wednesday.

However, I only want to be treated at this hospital. It is a centre

for research into pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and hereditary

pancreatic diseases. The team includes geneticists who have already

seen my husband and me and they will also see my sons. The Professor

is a renowned surgeon who has developed the surgical approaches

considerably in pancreatic surgery and does " the plumbing " (as one

doctor put it!) in a partiularly successful way. He is also a

leading researcher, teacher at this university teaching hospital

and, of course, writer. People are referred to him from all over the

country and beyond. I really would not want to go anywhere else in

this country. (By the way, I'm aware that there are other excellent

surgeons, of course! It's just that, for me, this is definitely the

man!)

As I said, neither of the two patients I know who have had a total

pancreatectomy in Liverpool have experienced any difficulty at all

in controlling their diabetes. I know one of them well and she was

quite surprised when I mentioned it as a possible problem. Her

diabetic nurse is particularly pleased with how stable her condition

is! The other one posted on this site a few weeks ago and said he's

had absolutely no problem. You may remember that he even said his BS

levels remain stable even if he misses an odd shot of insulin.

I'll ask about this on Wednesday and let you know. Of course, this

doesn't mean there wouldn't be a problem for me! There may be

medical reasons why it isn't done or it may just be funding, I

suppose. I'm probably going to ask for a referral to a consultant

diabetologist before I make a final decision. The hospital also has

an excellent diabetes clinic.

Some of the doctors I've spoken to about it (not diabetologists)

have said that the complications arising from diabetes tend to be

long-term anyway. Perhaps as I'm 57, that isn't seen as too much of

a

problem! I'll post again after Wednesday.

BTW, no way could I afford to go abroad for this op! I do have some

private insurance but, for this kind of operation, requiring such

expertise etc. one would definitely use an NHS hospital. The

Professor does not have private patients. I'm not even sure if he

would be allowed to, as a Professor. The team is linked to the

university and has funding (presumably European) to lead research in

this matter.

Thank you for your interest and support and very warm wishes.

Fliss