Re: Stents vs Ballon dilations

[Guest guest]

Danny,

If you’re seeing Van Thiel,

you’re in the hands of one of the best Hepatologists in the country. I

met him in 1984 at the annual meeting of the American Liver Foundation. He

referred me to Alpers at Washington

University in St. Louis, and the rest, as they is history.

Steve

Rahn

L Tx 9/6 &

9/8 '85 (Wash.

U-STL)

Re-Born July 4,

2003 (Re-L Tx U of IA)

www.presumedconsent.org

From: ddulak

Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004

10:37 PM

To:

Subject: Stents vs

Ballon dilations

The recent discussions regarding stents and a visit to a new doctor

yesterday sparked a question in my mind. Can

anyone share with me

their experiences of balloon dilations vs.

stenting to deal with

DS. Two months ago I had my 1st stent placed

which immediately

relieved my itching and pain problems.

Unfortunately in the past

few days I have started to experience pain in the

same area that

would lead me to believe that the stent is

becoming clogged. I was

told to expect that and also expect to replace the

stent every three

months. The " new " doctor (Dr.

Van Thiel, anyone heard of him?)

I went to for a 2nd opinion told me he prefers

dilations to stents

when possible. No foreign material in the

body equals less chance

for infection etc, which makes sense.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

DannyD in Milwaukee

33 yrs old, UC in 85, diabetes in 00. PSC 2/04

[Guest guest]

Depending on the extent and severity of the stricture(s), they may collapse

shortly after dilatation. They place stents to prevent them from collapsing

(or to keep strictures from forming) until the ducts heal enough to keep

open by themselves.

In my case, the stent was removed after two weeks. I presented with severe

URQ pain two weeks after dilatation and stent placement (no temp, no

jaundice). They believe the stent was blocking the gallbladder duct,

causing the pain. The stent went from the liver duct left/right branch past

the gallbladder branch to just before the pancreatic branch. They don't

really know for sure, but I ended up getting my gall bladder removed a

couple of months later (may have been the source of the URQ pain problem).

My CBD was dilated and stented in spring 2001. I haven't had an ERCP, or

any symptoms since the stent was removed (knock on wood).

Arne

52 - UC 9/77 - PSC 4/00

Alive and (mostly) well in Minnesota

-----Original Message-----

From: ddulak

The recent discussions regarding stents and a visit to a new doctor

yesterday sparked a question in my mind. Can anyone share with me their

experiences of balloon dilations vs. stenting to deal with DS. Two months

ago I had my 1st stent placed which immediately relieved my itching and pain

problems. Unfortunately in the past few days I have started to experience

pain in the same area that would lead me to believe that the stent is

becoming clogged. I was told to expect that and also expect to replace the

stent every three months. The " new " doctor (Dr. Van Thiel, anyone

heard of him?) I went to for a 2nd opinion told me he prefers dilations to

stents when possible. No foreign material in the body equals less chance

for infection etc, which makes sense.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

DannyD in Milwaukee

33 yrs old, UC in 85, diabetes in 00. PSC 2/04

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the response Arne, I'm still getting used to all the

abreviations what does URQ stand for.

We should really put together aabreviations list especially for the

new members!

DannyD in Milwaukee

33 yrs old, UC in 85, diabetes in 00. PSC 2/04

> Depending on the extent and severity of the stricture(s), they may

collapse

> shortly after dilatation. They place stents to prevent them from

collapsing

> (or to keep strictures from forming) until the ducts heal enough

to keep

> open by themselves.

>

> In my case, the stent was removed after two weeks. I presented

with severe

> URQ pain two weeks after dilatation and stent placement (no temp,

no

> jaundice). They believe the stent was blocking the gallbladder

duct,

> causing the pain. The stent went from the liver duct left/right

branch past

> the gallbladder branch to just before the pancreatic branch.

They don't

> really know for sure, but I ended up getting my gall bladder

removed a

> couple of months later (may have been the source of the URQ pain

problem).

>

> My CBD was dilated and stented in spring 2001. I haven't had an

ERCP, or

> any symptoms since the stent was removed (knock on wood).

>

>

> Arne

> 52 - UC 9/77 - PSC 4/00

> Alive and (mostly) well in Minnesota

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: ddulak [mailto:dwdulak@n...]

>

> The recent discussions regarding stents and a visit to a new doctor

> yesterday sparked a question in my mind. Can anyone share with me

their

> experiences of balloon dilations vs. stenting to deal with DS.

Two months

> ago I had my 1st stent placed which immediately relieved my

itching and pain

> problems. Unfortunately in the past few days I have started to

experience

> pain in the same area that would lead me to believe that the stent

is

> becoming clogged. I was told to expect that and also expect to

replace the

> stent every three months. The " new " doctor (Dr. Van Thiel,

anyone

> heard of him?) I went to for a 2nd opinion told me he prefers

dilations to

> stents when possible. No foreign material in the body equals less

chance

> for infection etc, which makes sense.

>

> Any thoughts would be appreciated.

>

> DannyD in Milwaukee

> 33 yrs old, UC in 85, diabetes in 00. PSC 2/04

[Guest guest]

URQ = Upper Right Quadrant

CBD = Common Bile Duct

UC = Ulcerative Colitis

DS = Dominant Stricture (although I have not seen this before a couple of

days ago)

ERCP = Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography

LFT = Liver Function Test (there are a bunch of abbreviations for the

individual tests)

That's a start - there's lots more.

Arne

52 - UC 9/77 - PSC 4/00

Alive and (mostly) well in Minnesota

-----Original Message-----

From: ddulak

Thanks for the response Arne, I'm still getting used to all the

abreviations what does URQ stand for.

We should really put together aabreviations list especially for the new

members!

DannyD in Milwaukee

33 yrs old, UC in 85, diabetes in 00. PSC 2/04