Look ma, (almost) no tubes!

Almost there at least.  Today I met with my surgeon, Dr. Boudreaux, in NOLA for my post surgical followup.  I started the day with a cholangiogram and we reviewed that at our appointment.  The cholangiogram revealed that there still is a bit of leakage from the bile duct which is not something desirable.

This means I need some sort of drainage somewhere to allow the bile duct to heal completely so that bile does not leak into my abdomen, leading to bad things.  So, there are two options at this point.  The first option is to leave in the external surgical drains.  Losing these drains was my number one goal in coming to NOLA to see the surgeon so we are going to extend our stay by two more days and chose option number 2.

Option number 2 is to insert a stent through an endoscopic procedure.  They will give me twilight sedation and then send a scope down my throat, past the stomach, and into the start of the small intestine, placing a stent from the small intestine to the bile duct.  This will relieve the pressure on the bile duct, allowing everything to finish healing.

When we come back out in September for the full workup of my future, the doctors will again test to see if the bile duct leaks.  If it does not leak, they will then remove the stent and I will be completely tube free.

Around the same time, I will get endoscopic ultra-sound imaging of the tumors around my rectum.  This will give the doctor a feeling for how we could potentially attack those tumors and what sort of colostomy (none, temporary, or permanent) I will need.

We discussed other longer term options such as high dose MIBG scans or the PRRT treatment which work similarly, using radiation to burn the tumors from inside.  SirSpheres could be performed in Denver which would kill many of the liver tumors, buying more time to treat the other tumors.  A multi-viceral transplant is also still a possibility but it is not, currently, our first option.

So, not much change for now.  My weight seems to have stabilized and my strength and endurance are returning.  Hopefully, I will be returning to work and playing hockey soon!