Re:Fliss ...ISLET CELL TRANSPLANT

[Guest guest]

Hello Shirley,

Thank you for your message. I appreciate your concern. I have been

reading your story, as well as all your posts, for months. I have

drawn inspiration from stories like yours and Bert's! I am so glad

that you have recovered well.

I have been discussing the possibility of TP with my docs for some

time. I am quite sure that I am being told the truth. We are

fortunate in having at my hospital one of the most renowned

pancreatic teams in the country, indeed in Europe. Patients are

referred to my surgeon from all over the country and beyond. He went

through the ICT procedure in detail with me. Of course there are

successes like yourself and that is wonderful. There are also a lot

of " failures " because it is difficult to get enough islet cells from

certain types of diseased pancreases to make an appreciable

difference. Also, often the cells die in the liver, soon after the

operation or a few years later. Unfortunately, my pancreas is full

of calcifications and harvesting islet cells is very unlikely to be

successful. He went through various trials of this procedure with me

and discussed their success data. This is not a man who would mind

at all if I went elsewhere, by the way!

In any case, Shirley, nearly all his patients are coping just fine

with their diabetes. I know one of them well and she is not brittle.

She finds the diabetes very easy to control. Another has posted on

this board and I have been in e-mail contact with him. He has

absolutely no problem with the diabetes and is stable even if he

occasionally forgets his insulin. I'm not sure why this is, Shirley.

This surgeon preserves the spleen and duodenum when he does the TP.

This is supposed to improve nutrition, I believe. (He didn't tell me

that, but I have read it elsewhere.) Possibly that explains why

there is less problem with the diabetes; I really don't know. I

spoke to his nurse after my appointment the other day. She sees all

the patients in the follow-up clinic with him. She said it was rare

for a patient to have a problem although it can happen. The surgeon

did not pretend it wasn't a risk but it is a small one. There are

places where the ICT is done, but IF I decide to have this

operation, I only want it done by this man and his team! You have to

have total faith in the surgeon, as you know, Shirley, and that's

how I feel about this professor. I have read so many things written

by patients of his (all sorts of surgical procedures, including the

TP)and I know what other docs' opinion of him is also. He has NOT

tried to persuade me to have the operation; he has just given me the

facts and the pros and cons of having it and not having it. I have

to decide!!

Anyway, I am certainly grateful for your concern and I am continuing

to research the matter, of course! I don't want to make a mistake. I

haven't even decided whether I want the TP or not. I would have a

good chance to be pain-free and would lose my high cancer risk but

the operation is so major!! I would love to talk to you about your

recovery period etc. I have been thinking about Keri to-day and

praying for her. She doesn't know me but she's been in my thoughts.

I guess the possible complications of this kind of surgery are scary

but you and Bert are inspirational!

Congratulations on your recovery and I wish you excellent health!

I'd love to keep in touch.

Best wishes,

Fliss