Are you suffering from the effects of chronic ulcerative colitis, FAP, Crohn's disease or colon and rectal cancer? Is taking medication, living with pain and being tied to the restroom a part of your daily life? Do you want to avoid a permanent external bag (ileostomy)?

If you are looking for alternatives to permanent ileostomy, a J-pouch procedure (also known as pelvic pouch, ileo pouch or ileal pouch) may be the answer. After a J-pouch procedure, patients gain control over their bowel movements, choose when to use the restroom, and resume a normal life.

Download a free J-pouch procedure fact sheet to learn:

• How a J-pouch is created
  
• Who can benefit from a J-pouch
  
• The difference between a J-pouch, S-pouch and K-pouch
  
• The advantages of a J-pouch
• Details on MyConsult, our online medical second opinion service

Cleveland Clinic's Digestive Disease Institute has the most experience in the United States in creating successful J-pouches and repairing failed pelvic pouches. As an alternative to open procedures, Cleveland Clinic offers minimally invasive laparoscopic J-pouch procedures, resulting in faster recovery and less pain. It is Cleveland Clinic's goal to help patients live a normal, healthy life - you can achieve this through a J-pouch procedure with our experienced and dedicated physicians.

• Since 1983, Cleveland Clinic has performed more than 3,700 J-pouch procedures, the most in the country.
• Cleveland Clinic Digestive Disease Institute is the largest national referral center for repairing failed pelvic pouches. Patients come from around the world to the Digestive Disease Institute for re-operations.
• Cleveland Clinic has been ranked No. 2 in the nation in gastroenterology by U.S. News & World Report since 2003.

"I am a survivor of ulcerative colitis (UC). I was just existing, not really living. My physician referred me to a gastroenterology group in Little Rock, AR, who reviewed my records via teleconference and told my physician that if I were their patient, they would send me straight to Cleveland Clinic because I seemed the perfect candidate for the J-pouch procedure. Life is good. Cleveland Clinic is good."

LaDonna Ashbrooks, Murfreesboro, Arkansa
Cleveland Clinic J-pouch procedure patient