Colon Resection

[livingwith]

I’m 25 years old (male) and have just been diagnosed with tumor and 25 polyps on my colon about 10 inches from from my anus on the left side. The doctors at first couldn’t decide whether to take just the section with the tumour and the polyps or to take the whole colon to be absolutley sure that the cancer won’t return at a later date. They will do what I want them to I can’t decide. I don’t know whether to risk the cancer returning and have almost normal bowel habi...Read the full article

[mocubfan]

I know its too late to help you but others may have questions concerning this operation because you can't really find out much other than what your dr. tells you. I'm 34 and on 5-19-08 I had a colon resection done. It started out as a laproscopic surgery but after 3 hrs they had to open me up to complete the operation 6hrs. total. The procedure was a success but originally they only wanted to take out a foot and a half but ended taken almost the whole colon. I have just enough to attatch my small intestine with my lg and to my anus. The third day in the hospital was the worst I regained my bowel movements which were all liquid and every half hr. this coincided with not being able to wipe myself to the stomach being cut up. All this was compounded with naseau due to my epidural and still having catheter in. Once the catheter and epidural were taken out I made a turn for the better. I was then walking around and feeling better. I was out of the hospital in 6 days and despite some pain which was taken care of by the vicodin my dr prescribed I did pretty well. Its tough bending down and getting up in the morning but for the most part I'm good. I heard horror stories about bowel movements but maybe I'm lucky because I have no problem controlling them. I go frequently but I did before the surgery. Its 6-4-08 and I am getting my staples out tomorrow. I hope this helps anyone wondering what to do because I had no help in my decision. Despite the pain I went through I feel that it was worth getting done. I no longer have to watch what I eat and with a history of colon cancer in the family I no longer have to worry about that either.

[Charlie-0]

In November of 06, I experienced a ruptured aortic aneurysm and survived and am one out of ten who survive. I am very blessed. Complications from the emergency surgery included the removal of a portion of my colon resulting from blood loss to that area. I had a colostomy up until the 13th of May of 08. A resection was done with a very small section of my rectum to work with. I now have an ileostomy which is like a colostomy but is from a different portion of the intestine. This is a temporary measure to allow the resection to heal and to be able to check to see if there will be leakage around the resection once the healing is complete. Not sure what they will do if it leaks but at least the ileostomy will still be available. I am replying to this post because of a chronic pain I am experiencing in my rectum. I am using pain medication, aspirin, hot baths, a lidocaine/hydrocordisone topical cream, and continue to feel the discomfort although not as severe as some who have contributed to this forum. My doctor suggested that my problem might be 'neuropathy' resulting from severed nerves during the resection. A device was inserted through my rectum that allowed the surgeon to staple everything together in one-felled swoop using titanimum stables that will be there permanently. Body tissue will eventually grow around the area and I should be good as new. (I hope) The neuropathy pain however, may take some time to overcome as the nerve endings try to grow together and reattach themselves. Sometimes, however, the nerve endings may not locate their counterpart and the nerve endings will stay exposed, I guess. I am wondering if anyone out there is familiar with this issue and if they can tell me the name of the stapling procedure I experienced. I failed to ask my doctor and would like to Google it to see if I can learn more about it. God Bless you all.