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Is it possible to change from ostomy to neobladder?
My bladder and prostate were removed 8 months ago and my surgeon recommended an ileal conduit/ostomy. The experience has been OK and I am slowly adapting to all that this entails.
Has anyone ever changed from an ostomy to a neobladder? I am not sure this is even physically possible but thought I would ask.
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I don’t believe it is an option. The neobladder isn’t all it’s hyped up to be. Terrible night control having to wake up every 2 hours ( setting an alarm) . Say goodbye to sleep as you’ve known it. Day time leaking when exerting or exercising means wearing depends day and night. Is it safer? No. More complications during and after surgery. My husband had life threatening acidosis within a month after surgery. The large bladder absorbs t bicarbonate leaving your blood acidic. It took out his kidneys an he has stage 3b chronic kidney failure. His kidneys were very healthy prior to surgery and is in his 60s. Considering yourself blessed.
I’ve heard of people having to go from a neobladder to an ostomy but not the reverse. I remember someone posting on a website that the person with the neobladder refused to switch. They wanted nothing to do with the ostomy even though it was deemed necessary for the patient to live.
I cannot imagine that the ileum having been made into a small conduit area can be enlarged into a neobladder. Just not enough ileum to do that plus all the scar tissue from the ostomy. It's a good question for a big surgical center like Mayo Urology has. I'll see if my husband can contact his surgical team there that did his neobladder surgery with this question.