Sphincter of oddi dysfunction

I am wondering if there is anybody out there who can help me.  I am a 19 year old female when I was 17 I had what I could only describe as annoying pain in my upper right abdomen that kept me up one night, the following day I stayed home from school and went to the doctor where they brushed my pain off as nothing more than indigestion and prescribed and an antacid.  Later that evening I still had the pain and my dad brought me to the ER where I sat for hours due to my lack of emotion about what was actually happening.  We got to the room where I received no pain medication and my dad had to demand they give me an ultra sound, what they found were gallstones, I had surgery later that week.  When they removed my gallbladder the doctor told me it was the most deteriorated she had ever seen and it was a miracle that it had held out that long.  

This past January I was taken to the emergency room for vomiting (which is very rare for me) and pain in my upper right abdomen.  I was sent to a specialist who concluded I have Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.  He told me my treatment options and after exhausting all other options he was told I would have to get surgery where they make an incision in the bile duct to release the pressure.  I was wondering if there is anybody out there who has had the procedure or is at all familiar with it because I am very uneasy about the risks.  Any information is appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Landon

[CalGal]

Landon, you may want to check out the SOD group on yahoo. They have a number of individuals on the board who have the condition or are being treated for it.

The only way to diagnose the condition is via ERCP with manometry. It can NOT be diagnosed based on symptoms alone. Typically, when it is diagnosed (based on elevated pressure levels in the duct detected during the manometry phase) the cut is done at that time and the individua. may be stented for a period of time also. The stenting may be necessary to decrease the risk of developing pancratitis.

But that muscle/duct should not be cut if there is no evidence of elevated pressures.