Surgery Advice

[actiplay]

I have been diognosed with crohn's over 3 months ago and have had the pains
Have never stoped. I have had a colonoscopy but they could not get through to the small Boswel because it was blocked. I then had a scan which showed that the small dowel was blocked and started me on azathioprine. I am waiting to see a surgeon to explain the procedure of an operation. I was wondering if someone
May have had the operation and could advise on the complications.
Thank you

 

[Jbrbr]

Hello actiplay.

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Lot's of people on the forum have had this kind of surgery. It sounds like your surgery will involve the removal of the obstruction in your small bowel.

In some cases, the surgeons remove the effected portion and then attach the two sections of the bowel back together. This procedure is known as a resection. In other cases, an ostomy procedure may be performed. This would involve removing the obstruction, then diverting the small bowel through an opening in your abdomen. Waste products are deposited in a bag worn on the abdomen. This can either be permanent or temporary.

As far as I am aware, the type of surgery performed can depend upon the location of the obstruction. Your surgeons will explain which type of procedure they recommend for your particular case.

My own experience is with resection surgery, with removal of portions of small bowel in the ileum and jejunum. I did not personally have any major complications. As I understand it, there is always a risk of bowel perforation immediately after the operation, but it's a rare occurrence. You'll be monitored for several days after the surgery to make sure that the procedure has worked well, so you'll be in good hands if there are any complications. Depending on the location and amount of bowel removed, you may find that your body absorbs less fats, vitamins, etc. from foods. If this is the case, then you'll be advised on nutritional support.

It's not particularly nice reading about all the potential ways this kind of surgery can go wrong, but it's important to remember that these are all quite rare occurrences. Surgery always carries some risk, but most people in seems, myself included, find significant relief from abdominal pain after having the surgery. I have found that my quality of life have much improved since having the surgery.

Hope this answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask about anything else to do with the surgery. I can only share my personal experience, so be sure to ask the surgeons for more medically informed advice! I wish you all the best.

 

[DougUte]

I had the surgery only 4 months after diagnosis. I had 3 ft of small intestine removed, plus 6 inches of the colon. In my case the surgeon took the resection and put the ends back together. I did not have a stoma. It took 5 days post surgery before I could eat solid food. As far as the pain, I was actually in more pain pre-surgery than I was immediately after surgery. I don't think that is very common. Good luck with your surgery.

 

[ronroush7]

I had my terminal ileum and a small part of my colon removed. While I was in the hospital I had an infection but it didn't last long.

 

[Justanothercp]

Hi actiplay.
I had small bowel resection, no complications. And was back to fairly normal work/life after 6 wks and I have a physical type job.
I guess normal complications would be infection or something with the anesthesia. And your general health otherwise could be a factor i.e. Any heart issue etc.
I felt much better after surgery, but have never been medication free and really watch my diet by following paleo/scd type diet. Good luck to you.

 

[DEmberton]

Sounds much the same as me. I guess it depends on how much they want to remove, but for me it was 20cm (out of 7 meters of small bowel). It was done laparoscopically, which meant I ended up with about a one inch scar down from my belly button, and three tiny incisions surrounding it which I can't even find anymore.

I had 5 days in hospital, then after about 2 weeks I was pretty much back to normal. There was some pain of course, but it mostly went away after a few days at home.

Hope it goes well.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

I had emergency open surgery for a perforation and abscess at my terminal ileum where it meets my colon. I also did not need a stoma and had the two ends connected as a resection. I was in hospital about 5-7 days. I lost a lot of weight and was initially in a lot of pain but picked up very quickly as soon as I was discharged. After 6 weeks I felt the best I had in my entire life!