Dad is already looking better today, even before the ERCP. The ERCP itself was very fast and painless according to him. It took only 20 mins and he was under anesthetic which is a stark contrast to what he had to go through a few days ago in Ipoh.

An 8.5 cm stent was inserted into his bile duct (and partially into the gall bladder itself, to be safe) and this has helped immensely with his condition. He is still jaundiced but not as pale as when he arrived in Gleneagles yesterday. Pain is gone and he's able to sit up and talk, and doc has allowed him liquid diet, although he's still getting IV drips.

The gastroenterologist Jason Chin (who performed the ERCP) came in and explained that as the endoscope went in the could see blackish fluid seeping out of the bile duct, which is a sign that the trapped bile was going bad. It would have been A Bad Thing if that actually got into the system. Healthy bile is supposed to be green. We were given a videotape recording of what was seen through the scope.

He'll be spending the next few days recovering from his jaundice and building up his strength in preparation for the operation which is scheduled for 8am on Thursday. It's going to be a major operation what will go on for 6-8 hours.

His improving situation is giving us all hope on a speedy recovery. We've got news of a convoy of his relatives and friends coming down from Ipoh tomorrow to visit so that should cheer him up. I'm sure they'll all be happy to see him in a much better condition than he was in Ipoh a few days ago.