The Burning Question

This question references the promised follow-up to our praise regarding Simms surgery in April.

Words cannot truly express how thrilled we are that the surgery was a success. However, knowledge of this then begs the question - why is there still burning and what's causing that?

My delay in writing this post was partly because of life needing me elsewhere but it was also because I was waiting to see if we would receive the follow-up information from the surgeon. That hasn't happened yet.

So here is what we know at this point - which was also a result of the cystoscopy. The portion of the urethra that is distal from the corrected area is abnormal. He had used that term from a prior test - which was like an x-ray of the urethra - but this was with more detail because of the scope. Apparently this portion is quite irritated. Rather than being a pink fleshy color (like the inside of your cheek) it is whitish in color and flaky. He also explained that these flakes have been known to connect and form microscopic strictures throughout that portion of the urethra and hypothesized that this would be the cause of the burning that still occurs and fluctuates in severity.

So what do we do now?

The specialists response was that he needs time to think about this and connect with some of his friends and colleagues throughout the country.

Apparently we've gone outside the realm of routine surgery even for a specialist.

We've learned that at times a small portion of the urethra has been successfully corrected by using the submucosal tissue from the inside of your cheek. However this is typically done on small portions and the irritated area in Simms urethra doesn't qualify.

While the doctor thinks and discusses...I pray.

I confess I started to go down the wrong road of discouragement. Thankfully I was encouraged by my Father to not give up. Technically this is the first time that we have learned about what may have been the cause of burning since Simms' childhood. As a result my prayers have changed slightly - focusing on the new knowledge we now have.

If you are new and want all the detail regarding this journey of faith, you simply need to read the posts under this label from the bottom to the top.