stents questions/

[Guest guest]

I am going tomorrow to have 2 stents put in. has anybody else had

them put in? Does it hurt any worse than a regular ERCP? And has it

help with the pancreatitis? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

in KY

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

It depends on where you are having the stents put in.....the

common bile duct (referred to as biliary stents sometimes) or in

the pancreatic ducts...and if in the pancreatic ducts....in the

ventral or dorsal duct.? Basically as a rule of thumb (which

always has exceptions of course) is that those stents put into the

bile ducts are usually easier to do, less painful and results in

less complications than those that are put into the pancreatic

ducts. In my experience....any time a doctor messed with the

pancreas ducts I ended up with a mild to moderate case of acute

pancreatitis. However, when the " messing " was confined to the

common bile duct only...I had no complications. To hazard a

guess, I would say that based on my experience, stenting can be

more painful than a regular ERCP - especially when it is the first

stent to go in. When the first stent was exchanged for the

second one, it was a fairly easy procedure.

My first stent helped me tremendously with pain issues. The

second one, placed 8 weeks later did not. So in my case, when

it was used to unblock a completely obstructed duct, it made a

huge impact. But when the stent was used to improve on the

pain levels once the blockage was relieived, it wasn't as

successful. Everyone is different though.....and depending on

why the stents are being placed, where they are being placed,

how long they are going to be left in, what type they are.....all of

these may impact how you react to the procedure and how

successful your treatment will be. For the most part though, it is

a fairly " easy " procedure to go through when compared to other

types of stenting (like those done for heart problems) or to a

surgical treatment of pancreas problems.

laurie