First surgery

[kjhngisd]

My wife and I got the call today that she'll need a bowel resection.

The resection will be in the sigmoid colon. It looks like its involving a 3 inch part of the colon, is infected, probably abscessed and/or have a fistula associated (can't 100% tell from the CT scan).


I'll keep doing additional research on this, but I thought I'd ask you kind people for your insights on what to expect and what your experiences where with respect to recovery time, long term effects, things to watch out for, etc.


thanks for your help.
--kevin

PS. Merry Christmas. May your Christmas gifts be better than ours this year

 

[tiloah]

Did they say if they would do it laparoscopically, lap with hand assist, or open?

I had about 7" of my colon removed a few months ago. I was in the hospital for five days, then after being home for a week I was able to go back to my desk job. I have a thread in which I wrote about it in excruciating detail.

I hope they are able to get that nasty stuff out of there and get her some treatment that keeps her in remission. It sounds like she's a good candidate for surgery and I hope it has her feeling much better. Good luck and I'll be thinking about you guys.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I am a month out from bowel resection. Expect her to be very weak in the beginning, lots of pain and diarrhea. She will have no foods and be on IV for 48 hours or so. Then a liquid diet for a day or two. Then a low fiber diet for a while. Expect her to be in the hospital 4-5 days.

 

[kjhngisd]

Thanks for the replies.
@diesanduhr : did you have laparoscopically?

We talk to the surgeon on Tuesday, so we'll find out more about the specifics of our options then. One of the reasons I'm being so vague is that I just dont have the details yet.

It sounds like the prep is pretty bad, but the first few days after are the roughest?

did you have a lot of pain from the scars? Or just the intestinal pain?
Besides diarrhea, is there any other problem with bowel movements after?
Did they take you off your other meds for the surgery? If so, how long were you off?

Thanks again.
--kevin

 

[Roxymusic]

I always found that it was really hard to put any abdominal muscle pressure on movements after surgery. It got easier after a week or two.

Preps always vary in how you react to little or no food and feeling miserable in the first place. I tried to stay as busy and normal as I could with the prep, despite the clean out.

Some meds they take you off due to interactions. Things you really need you will get. Just have a good list of your meds together for the drs.

Kevin, this is just a bump in your lives this christmas. Stay strong for your wife

 

[kjhngisd]

Thanks again for your replies. There's so much to think about. She asked me today how soon she'll be able to shower after the surgery. I told her that was her least worry, but I also have no clue what the answer is.
It's a harsh bump in the road.

Thanks,
--kevin

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Thanks again for your replies. There's so much to think about. She asked me today how soon she'll be able to shower after the surgery. I told her that was her least worry, but I also have no clue what the answer is.
It's a harsh bump in the road.

Thanks,
--kevin

Trust me she won't be thinking about showers in the beginning nor have the energy. I showered on the 3rd or 4th day it was no issue the steristrips are strong. You just don't wash the area but soap and water can run over it.