Deion Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl winner, got a new bladder at the age of 57.
After physicians found a tumor this spring, the University of Colorado coach recently had reconstructive surgery to cure an aggressive form of bladder cancer.
Neobladder reconstruction is a surgery that employs the patient’s own small intestine tissue.
This is the process:
The old bladder is first removed by the surgeons. The ileum, the last segment of the small intestine, is then excised for approximately one and a half feet.
The intestinal section is then sliced on one side by the surgeon, leaving it flat like a sheet. They then attach the rear to the front after folding it in half from top to bottom.
According to Dr. Max Kates, codirector of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute at Johns Hopkins University, the final product looks like a volleyball wrapped in sutures.
The neobladder is then sewn to the kidneys and urethra by the surgeon.
The ability of the human body to adjust to such a treatment is “amazing,” according to Dr. Janet Kukreja, the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s director of urologic oncology and Sanders’ surgeon. In the hospital, patients often only stay for a few days to recover.
She used a laparoscopic camera and robotics to repair Sanders’ neobladder, which only necessitates tiny incisions.
Because the neobladder is made from the patient’s own tissue, the immune system does not reject the new organ, which is a cool feature of this procedure, Kukreja told NPR. Therefore, immunosuppressive drugs are not necessary for people with neobladders.
According to Kukreja, plastic would not be effective for reconstructing a bladder since the urinary tract rejects foreign objects. Patients would develop bladder stones as a result of calcium accumulation.
Because a reconstructed bladder is unable to communicate with the brain to tell a person when to use the restroom, it does not work exactly like a person’s natural bladder.
According to Dr. Jodi Maranchie, a surgical urologic oncologist at UPMC in Pittsburgh, it takes some getting used to a neobladder. Until they can easily regulate their bladder during the day, they gradually extend the time between bathroom visits. However, leakage frequently continues to be a problem for people when they sleep.
Sanders admitted this flaw at a press conference on Monday. Like his one-year-old grandson, he jokingly said, he now “depends on the Depends.”
“I am aware that many people are experiencing the same thing that I am. And handling what I’m handling,” he remarked. “And let’s stop being ashamed of it.”
According to Kates, many patients experience embarrassment due to the incontinence that results from a neobladder repair.
Kates informed NPR that he “loved every moment” of Sanders’ press conference because of this. The Pro Football Hall of Famer, according to the urologist, was genuine and humorous; “the guy was anything but shameful.”
The press conference was actually highlighted by two of Kates’ patients, both of whom were guys in their twenties: “They both felt completely validated by him.”
According to research from the American Cancer Society, bladder cancer is expected to affect 85,000 Americans this year. According to Maranchie, women typically arrive with a slightly more severe and advanced form of bladder cancer, even though the majority of patients are men.
She hypothesized that some women mistake this warning sign for menstruation blood because blood in the urine is the only indicator of bladder cancer.
However, Sanders revealed that his tumor was found during a yearly physical.
He claimed that things may have gone quite differently if he hadn’t made that appointment.
“Please get yourself checked out,” he responded. “Because they wouldn’t have discovered this if I hadn’t been checked for something else. Make sure you receive the proper treatment.
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