Re: Kim--sphincteroplasty

[Guest guest]

How sweet to have a 3 year old. He is getting to that perfect age.

He's old enough to know right from wrong and can come up with his

own views on the world. They have such beautiful perceptions at

that age. Enjoy it. Once he gets to big school he will loose all

of that. I have 3 kids, my eldest daughter is almost 19 and

freshman in college, premed..so far. My son is 14 a freshman in HS

and he and I fight like cats and dogs, cant be in the same room for

5 minutes, then my baby girl is 9 and in the 4th grade. She is my

mother's revenge. They do keep me on my toes but have also helped

me out a lot when I was at my sickest.

Dr. Cotton can open up your sphicter with balloon dilation and/or

stents. He has had a great deal of success with repetative

treatments for SOD that can last for years. It just sometimes takes

a little more then one or two treatments. A sphincteroplasty is a

surgical plastics procedure. The end of the pancreas at the ducts

end where the sphincter of oddi lie is opened up completely and

attached directly to the inside of the intestinal wall. So

basically the sphincter will no longer open and shut as it would

naturally to the stimuli of eating. When the hormones are released

when one chews all the way down to the stomachs reaction to when

food enters tells the pancreas to release digestive enzymes to meet

the incoming food. So the sphincter will not longer dialate at this

stimuli the enzymes will just be released.

When I had this procedure done the doc said that my pancreatic head

was completely fibrotic and damage had already spread to the

remaining ducts. So it was a little too late for me. It is a very

successful procedure if ones diagnosis is SOD and no further damage

is done. I believe that I have had panc problems all my life and

was told is was muscle spasms, kidney problems, everthing but panc.

I often wonder what would have happened if one of those times I had

gone to the ER with my " Bad back " if somebody had just done some

blood work. Maybe I could have had a sphincteroplasty and that

would have been it. I had some kinky ductwork as well and they cant

tell me if I was born with that or if it had developed. They just

dont know.

The sphincteroplasty incision is from just below the sternum to

about 4 inches so its not so bad. Hospitalization is about 5-7 days

and recovery is expected in 6-8 weeks post op. Dr. has been

doing them at MUSC for quite some time with a great deal of success.

If you can be treated for your SOD without having to have surgery

then I would reccommend that whole heartedly. The pancreas is a

very funny little organ and it does not like to be messed with. The

least amount of manipulation to it the better off you will be.

Whatever Dr. Cotton reccommends is what I would do, he's the man!

Thats great that your job is being so understanding. Not all

employers are like that. They were ok with my first surgery, but

when things got worse they lost their pateince. I used up all my

fmla and was still sick and had no choice but to resign. Sometimes

I wish I had never cornered the doc in the hall and asked him about

my problems in the first place. Hernia and gallbladder. If I could

turn back time I would have kept them both.

I hope I answered your question and thanks for the kind words about

my going back to work. If there is anything else I can do just let

me know.

Chrissy

[Guest guest]

> The sphincteroplasty incision is from just below the sternum to

> about 4 inches so its not so bad.

I must be odd as my incision from this surgery is 7 inches and my GB

incision is on a diagonal to it so I have 2/3rds of a Peace sign !!

Love, Cyndi