Good morning,
One of my daughters just got home on Sunday from a bowel resection of the same area for a stubborn spot that would not go away. Her twin had the same surgery for the same spot last summer. Our surgeon said this is the most common area taken out for bowel resections.
My daughter who had this done last summer is doing beautifully now. She's been able to go from four weeks to five weeks with Remicade. We are very thankful. She did have an issue with bleeding post-surgery and unfortunately have to be readmitted in September for low blood counts. She got a couple blood and iron transfusions and has since had no issue. That was certainly a surprise and a rare occurrence from what our surgeon said.
For the hospital stay I would recommend bring a favorite stuffed animal to hold against his stomach for when he gets in and out of bed. Both of my daughters also used it when on the toilet. It gave them comfort to have something lightly pressed against the area.
They each got sick the afternoon after the surgery. That was not fun. Not sure if it was the meds on an empty stomach or anesthesia wearing off or what have you but you should be prepared for that possibly. I don't know if I would mention to your son beforehand or not. It may cause anxiety. You may want to be prepared and have a large bowl or something from the nurse. That will help a lot with clean up and extra moving around.
We have a shower stool at home that is helpful for the first week when they weren't ready to stand and shower just yet. I got it off amazon and it was fairly inexpensive.
My daughter who just had it done is managing pain at home with Tylenol. She can take ibuprofen but doesn't want to although the surgeon and GI doc said it is okay. I guess it's hard to go that route when you've been told not to take it for years.
Day of surgery she didn't eat at all. Day two she drank some but not a lot as she had IV fluids still. She had half a roll. Day three she was able to eat what she wanted as her appetite dictated. She got off the IV on day four. The poor thing had a second IV placed while under. They had to get her 3 times. Both IVs came out the second night and she got a new IV that lasted for two days. She got one dose of ibuprofen through the IV and it burned.
We went to a children's hospital that has Child Life Services. I would consider looking into that. Each daughter got a visit from a therapy dog while they were in. Child Life can also provide things to do while admitted.
My daughters were expected to be up and out of bed the day after the surgery. They wanted them to walk the halls and sit up in chairs and try to do things as normally as possible (ex. brushing teeth at sink instead of in the bed with a bowl).
For my daughter who just got it done, the GI doctor said she should be able to go from a four week schedule to a six week on with Stelara. Not sure what meds your son is one but check the timing of it post surgery. My daughter upstairs was due for her Stelara on Saturday while she was in the hospital. We were told to hold off for two weeks and start doing every six weeks.
The GI doctor wants follow up blood work in 4-6 weeks post surgery and a colonoscopy 3-6 months post surgery. The surgeon wants to see her 2-3 weeks post surgery but is okay with a video appointment.
For my daughter who had it done last year, she was told to massage her scars (can't recall when that started) to help keep them flat (which they already were, he did a great job!). She used Mederma to do this (or you can use Vitamin E).
I hope this is helpful. Of course, it's all specific to each child. It's obviously very clear in my mind as one is recovering upstairs now! Best of luck to your son.
Kindly,
Jennifer
