Seeking input on diversion options

Since my brother went to Barnes/Dr. Bullock, I have nothing but praise for the Doctor and Hospital. My brother is celebrating 11 years with his neo bladder, he was 69 at the time of surgery. He has not had to "self-cath" but some of the others do, it does not seem to be a problem either way.
Good luck, and you found the right site to help you, everyone is so informative and helpful.
We have all been down this road called Bladder Cancer, and there are a lot of positive outcomes.

Nancy

HI, WE ARE IN THE MISSOURI AREA AND WOULD LOVE YOUR INPUT AS TO NEOBLADDER AND FOLLOWUP AT THE SITEMAN CENTER AT BARNES.

I am late reading this, but I might be able to help. My brother @ age 69 had a neo bladder at Barnes, Dr. Bullock was his surgeon. Since that time he hasn't had any problems, however, I have read some patients do have some problem. He does not have to cath, but that does not mean your husband will not have to.
I am sure a surgeon will tell you what is best for your husband's particular case.
Good Luck, I hope this helps

Nancy

Thank you. My husband is 66, in good health, and is quite active. He maintains our rural home of 14 acres and is an avid fisherman, loves RV'ing and boating. He's a hard worker and doesn't sit around well.

We are in the process of scheduling an appointment with a doctor at Barnes Jewish hospital in St. Louis for a second opinion. We liked the first doctor very much but definitely got the impression the IC was his preferred diversion method and we want to know more about the other two. We're sort of picking a doctor out of a hat at Barnes, but I think we are going with Dr. Bullock based on education and experience at this point, if he can get us in quickly. If anyone has any other recommendations, we are open.

Thanks again.

My husband will be starting pre-surgery chemo shortly followed by an RC probably in the fall sometime. The surgeon we saw presented the three diversion options but seems to really lean toward the ileal conduit; he doesn't even do the Indiana pouch anymore as he feels there are too many post-surgery issues with it. He does think Bill is a good candidate for a neo bladder but we still got the impression he felt the IC would be his recommendation. We are going to get a second opinion, even though we think this doctor is very good, lots of experience, does a lot of these surgeries, etc.

I wonder if any of you (or actually, many of you) could give us some real life feedback on your actual experiences with the different types of diversion methods, so we can make a practical, hands-on type decision? One thing the doctor mentioned with the neo bladder that my husband is concerned about is the need to self-catheterize. That does not appeal to him at all, but that is based on his one and only time being catheterized, which was for his TURB and for a week thereafter, and it was extremely unpleasant. So any and all info you folks can provide on your experiences with the different options would be helpful -- good and bad. We're not excited to be on this road, but it's the one we're on so here we go.