Back from Indianapolis

[Guest guest]

,

I asked those questions to two doctors and got the same answer

back...a permanent stent can be made and placed, but they tend to

only use those on terminal patients..reasons being that..1) chance

of the stent being " sucked " deep into the pancreas is high, and the

only way to remove it is by Whipple procedure...(this actually

happened to me, but a bout of pancreatitis, caused pressure of the

enzymes to burst through the blockage, and carried the old stent

where it was able to be found and removed near the opening of the

duct...guess i was very lucky), 2) To have a permanent stent, it

would need to be made out of a form of steel, and it is not known

how the body will react after a number of years. Apparently the

body's enzymes would try to break the steel down, and could cause

worse problems, possibly fatalities. 3) Stents have the tendency to

cause scar tissue which can cause further problems with blockages of

the ducts, and 4) infections can arise if left in for too long a

time.

I know nothing about ducts in the cardiac areas, or any other place

very much, but I know that when my stents used to block, it was with

a white solid calcium substance..grain (or gravel as the docs might

refer to it), and seeing that the stents are only a couple of

millimeters wide (the pancreatic duct is usually only as wide as the

nib of a ball point pen) can block very easy from this gravel.

Hope this is of some help...you might want to ask your doctor if

this is correct, because if it isn't, I'd be interested to know as I

have told them many times to go ahead with a permenent stent..but

always been given.. " considering your age, and not being terminal, it

could be worse off for you "

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I wrote this once, but it seems to not have updated..which is a

shame because I wrote a lot *laugh*...anyway, I'll try again

I too was at a stage where I had asked if I could have a permanent

stent put in place, but was told by 2 GI's that they only do this

for terminal patients because of the risks associated with it. 1)

High chance of the stent being " sucked " deep into the pancreas, and

only being able to remove it by performing a whipple procedure, 2)

To have a permanent stent, it would be necessary to be made out of

steel, and the medical profession have no idea how the body would

react to the steel being in the pancreas for such a long time..they

believe major problems would arise in the fact that the pancreatic

enzymes would try to break down the steel, and this could lead to

serious complications..3) when having a stent in place, there is a

risk of scar tissue developing, which can cause other blockages, and

4) leaving a stent in for a long period of time can cause infections.

As for the enzymes causing blockages, I can only go by what caused

blockages when I had stents placed, and it was a white chalky

substance that built up like a thick cream in the duct. This I was

told was a calcium type of build up..sludge or gravel as referred to

by the medical profession..

I hope this helps you some, at least it gives you a few questions to

put to your doctor when you next see him.

Regards,

catherine

[Guest guest]

Good Afternoon Everyone....

I'am back from seeing Dr. Lehman and am actually at work

today. The stenting went real smooth. Best one ever.... I now have

two stents in and we are hoping these drain better and that I can

make 8 - 10 weeks with these. We will evaluate in 1 month to see if

all is well and if I am feeling better to see if we will continue

with the stenting series. I am so much better with this stenting,

it is amazing. I only threw up once. Is amazing compared to the

other stents I've had. Maybe it's because I was opened from the

first stent that the second stenting went so smoothly. What ever

the reason I am thankful. I have a good feeling that this is going

to work out great. Once the stentings are complete I hope I get

longer than a year before I close up again. Forever would be nice

but I know that is dreaming... I do hurt. It hurts to walk, but not

the usual panc pain, more of a sore pain. So I think it is draining

well with the two in there now.

Must get back to work...

Love,

W

Wisconsin

P.S. Thanks again for all the prayers, they sure have been helping

lately