To

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

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

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

it shows up thrice, please ignore the other two posts.

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