Pustow Procedure

April 10, 2005

Hello,

I am a 29 year old male which has had idopathic CP for the last 7

years. My doctors have found several stones in the pancreatic duct

recently which has been causing on and off moderate pain. I was pain

free for the last 2 years. I was referred to University of Michigan

for evaluation and they are recommending the Puestow. Has anyone ever

had this procedure and results you have had in reliving the symtoms of

pain and recurrent attacks? It looks like this may be my best option

since they were uncessful in removing the stones in my recent ERCP's.

Any advice would be great.

Take Care

April 11, 2005

Hi Greg,

I am so sorry to hear of your recent setback concenring your chronic

pancreatitis and the stones that caused them. While I did not have

the

same condition prior to my Peustow (I suffer from Pancreas Divisum) I

think what I have to say may still be relevent to you.

I had my Peustow Surgery back in 1993 at Mass general Hospital, a

tremendous institution (personal opinion, of course). The surgery

was

long and my recovery was also very long and somewhat grueling, but

once

I recovered from the effects of the surgery, I actually was able to

lead a fairly normal life, with the exception of drinking alcohol or

eating fast-foods and snacks (fatty foods). I was doing so well

after

the surgery that I was able to go back to work (a different job for I

had already been fired from my previous position due to my illness

and

loss days at work). The work was extremely stressful but I handled

it

very well and received 2 quick promotions within a relatively short

period of time. Unfortunately, the good news ends there as I started

to get flair-ups of my pancreas which continued to intensify until

the

pain became worse than it was prior to the Puestow. I eventually had

to have a Whipple Procedure back in late 1996 and have been on SSDI

ever since 2000 (lost another job due to my illness and am now being

told that I will never be able to work full-time again, if at all).

Gregg, While I would hate to scare you away from having surgery that

your doctor deems necessary for you to relive your symptoms of

pancreatitis, I do believe that you should know both sides of this

all

important issue. While the Peustow Surgery has been quite successful

for a lot of people within the Group as well as without, I do believe

it depends a great deal upon the causes of your pancreatitis that

determimes it's ultimate success. I don't know of anyone with your

particular problems with the blockage of your pancreas due to stones,

but I

have yet to speak with or communicate with anyone with Pancreas

Divisum

who ultimately benefited from the Peustow and eventually most of them

had to opt for the

Whipple.

I hope this is of some help to you in making your decision. If

you'd

like to communicate with me further on this subject, just drop me a

note

either through the Group or at my personal email address at

ajcastenell@... and I will be

more

than happy to discuss this further with you.

Take care, my man. Things will get better...

Andre'

>

> Hello,

>

> I am a 29 year old male which has had idopathic CP for the last 7

> years. My doctors have found several stones in the pancreatic duct

> recently which has been causing on and off moderate pain. I was

pain

> free for the last 2 years. I was referred to University of Michigan

> for evaluation and they are recommending the Puestow. Has anyone

ever

> had this procedure and results you have had in reliving the symtoms

of

> pain and recurrent attacks? It looks like this may be my best

option

> since they were uncessful in removing the stones in my recent

ERCP's.

> Any advice would be great.

> Take Care

April 11, 2005

I had a Puestow in Jan 04, it definitely help with the pain. If you need

any info email me @ jruggieri @ sc.rr.com

R