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Right Hemicolectomy and small bowel resection

warge

warge

Hi all

I am back at home after the op, which was supposed to be keyhole but didn't end up that way. When I feel a little better I will document it.

Everything went well thank goodness.
Warge
 
Grumbletum

Grumbletum

Hello Warge
It's really good to hear from you and so glad the operation went well. Hope you're getting plenty of rest, not lifting anything heavy and on the mend x
 
gmm

gmm

yep take it easy especially with food ,stick to sloppy stuff for a week or two if you can, the worst part is over now hopefully, mend well
 
warge

warge

Well Day 10 and I am having good days and bad days. At the moment my tummy is very tight and quite red. Still having a lot of pain, perhaps I am expecting too much. I am a very impatient and want to get walking but that is not going to happen for a while I think. I was hoping that walking would help the recovery. Still having to go to the toilet lots of times but hopefully that will get better with time.
 
M

Mel13

Hi warge

Just really wanted to say hi, wish you a speedy recovery and also say I completely sympathise with you. I am at day 7 after having a right hemicolectomy (still in hospital though) and I just get so frustrated that I haven't healed yet. How's that for high expectations!! I too feel that my tummy is tight and is definitely red. Well, it's the redness that is keeping me here actually- surgeon said to me this morn that he thought the incision in the belly button is infected.

Have you had the redness checked by your doctor/surgeon?
 
warge

warge

I have an infection and a course of antibiotics:-( Specialist has made an incision for the puss to come away and I have to go each day for dressing to be changed. Back on Friday for another specialist apointment
 
Kip1

Kip1

Hi Warge I am sorry this has happened to you. It also happened to me but I was able to have my dressings changed by the district nurse & eventually the practice nurse. When I stopped having the wound packed my practice nurse let my hubby dress the wound for me with special dressings that cost around £10 each & we also had steri packs to use too.
 
warge

warge

Unfortunately i took advantage if private health from work and have to back to them, the district nurses wont touch me:-(
 
DustyKat

DustyKat

Super Moderator
I'm so sorry to hear you have had this setback warge...:hug:...and it is such a shame you have to go to the hospital to have your dressings done too. :(

Try not to be too hard on yourself with the recovery time. You have likely already been told it is early days and it is, easy to say when it isn't me ay! Both of my children have had open resections with my son's probably being closer in nature to yours. Bearing in mind he had no post op complications it wasn't until the beginning of week 4 post op that he was able to start and move freely. Up until that point he was very guarded with his abdomen when he walked, sat/lay down and when getting up again.

I hope you are able to get rid of the infection quickly and you are soon up and about and feeling fab...:goodluck:

Dusty. xxx
 
M

Mel13

Hi Warge,

Still sympathising with you. I'm on day 9 post op and whilst I'm at home now, movement is still limited. I too had an infection in the incision at the belly button and yesterday, it burst open. I've never seen so much pus (sorry for the graphic there!). In fact, it is still oozing pus now and it's been a day since it burst!

Hang in there Warge- better days for you very soon. Better days for us!
 
warge

warge

Latest episode - they dressed the wound yesterday and decided to put some antiseptic onthe wick, at 2.30 this morning woke myself up scratching and had to go to hospital and change dressing again, allergic to iodine and my arms etc are covered in rash :-(

Someone said to me if i didnt have bad luck would have no luck!!!
 
DustyKat

DustyKat

Super Moderator
Oh no...That is awful! I must say, I don't know what possessed them to use iodine in a dressing like that. :(

I hope you are starting to feel a little better now that the dressing has been removed and you don't have any more glitches! :eek2:

Dusty. xxx
 
warge

warge

I am feeling Ok now fed up of having to change the dressing every day but hopefully that will stop soon. Finish the antibiotics on Tuesday:) Not taking as many pain meds either now, can now get into the car without it hurting but get tired quickly. Dont know whether I really thought about it before but got gunk out of my belly button today:-(

Getting fed up of day time tv now though. Found that I cannot concentrate for very long at the moment, hopefully that will get better.
 
warge

warge

Hi

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for their support during this time, I am so grateful for the information and advice that people have which has made the whole thing a lot easier and I also know that I can come on here and people will help in any way they can.

Warge
 
M

MsOJ

I hope you are a lot better now!!!
I had the same op, some infection and found out the hard way that I was allergic to Morphine... Even if you have surgery privately you are still entitled to District/ Practice Nurse support, but instead of the hospital organising it you have to pester your GP into requesting!!!

Take care
 
warge

warge

everything going ok until today and the goo coming out of the wound is not a very healthy colour, looks like I might be getting another infection:-( Swab has been taken and will have to wait for the results:-(
 
warge

warge

Gone today to have dressinges changedand the stuff coming out of a very small hole at the top of the healed up incision he made to get rid of the infecton, is not very pleasant. I am having to go to clinic tomorrow to see the doctor and he is likely to open it up to see what is going on:-(
 
DAVID KINGHAM

DAVID KINGHAM

Location
England..Milton Keynes
I hope your feeling a little better.You should feel stronger each day but it is a long recovery so please don't rush.I'd say after being on antibiotics for infection,it was about 6 months before i could say it was behind me.Most of us know how you are feeling and i totally emphasize.Having your bowel go to sleep,they don't tell us about that.3 days after surgery and your taking off on the toilet through sheer down draft..lol..not funny at the time but obvious after and that's just day 3.Keep strong because it will get easier
 
warge

warge

Thanks for all the support, I am getting a little bit worried that it could be a fistula which I know nothing about really. Still should wait and see what the doc says.

Here's hoping it is something and nothing, I should be positive.
 
warge

warge

Hi

Just got back and my doctor was not there, delayed with an operation. He asked another doctor to see me instead. He did exactly the same as the nurse did yesterday, probed the hole and proceeded to tell the nurse to pack it and wait for a couple of weeks (bearing in mind that the hole is tiny) before they make a decision and will probably open it up. The stuff that is coming out is nasty very thick and greeny-yellowy which makes me think that it needs sorting now and not in a couple of week - ie Xmas!!!!

I am going back to clinic tomorrow for it dressing and will see his secretary to say that I am not happy with that and want it sorting now, I need to know what it is and why it is happening. Having had a look at the dressing he has made it bleed:-(

I was hoping to get back to work just after xmas as I will lose money if I dont! and I am not happy about being put off for a couple of weeks and and waiting to find out what is wrong.

Warge
 
Kip1

Kip1

Warge that is appalling treatment. If it is still infected & it certainly sounds like it is then you need to get it sorted straight away although they do like to get infection under control 1st. Are you still on antibiotics?
 
warge

warge

Hi

No the doctor last night just wanted to wait a couple of weeks, what an a*** I was really upset with him. I go to see my doctor tonight so hopefully will get somewhere with him, although they are still waiting for the swab result to come back:-(

Hopefully he will do something tonight or very soon, I cannot afford to be off much after Xmas as I would only get half pay for January and quarter pay for the following month which means that I would be travelling back and forth to the hospital costing more money that I could not afford!

My doctor will certainly be told that the doctor last night was a waste of space!

Thanks for your support.

Warge
 
warge

warge

Hi

Deed done - doctor says it is a track running alongside the wound and has opened it to allow it to heal from the inside out, thank goodness:) It feel a whole lot better and it should be healed for next week the nurse says.

At last the end is in sight:)
Warge
 
warge

warge

Latest problem is a very swollen left foot and leg, have put my hospital socks back on to see if it helps. Has anyone experienced this?
 
warge

warge

it is only painful to touch and slightly red. Only trouble my legs are discoloured and red anyway so cant really tell:-( Mind you they have told me before that swelling runs in families and because my mother had it I am likely to get it, not good because I dont think they know.
 
warge

warge

Yet another setback, at the other end of the wound there is an infection. Spent 40 minutes of a trolley today waiting for the doctor to come and lance it. Onto another set of antibiotics. Hopefully I will not be allergic to these:-( I seem to be jinxed but then again taking immunosuppresants does not help the healing process!

On the plus side I got to see my nice doctor again;-)
 
warge

warge

Has anyone else experienced ouzing / pussing from a surgery wound 5 and half weeks after? The incision where the doctor cut a week ago is nearly closed up but the puss coming out is very thick green stuff and quite a lot of it. I am gettng very depressed that it is never going to heal properly!
 
warge

warge

Oh well next saga!!!! Doctor has opened up the wound where the second infection is so I have 2 now:-( He is a bit at a loss !! He said it could be the immunosuppresants that i am on or could be that inside has not healed as quickly as outside, so still on daily dressings and if no better after xmas ct scan to see what is going on. He is reluctant to open me up again!!!

Getting very very depressed now!
 
Grumbletum

Grumbletum

Oh Warge, that is not good news :-( I'm not surprised you are feeling down. I guess it will be hard to tell too, with these problems, if the surgery has done what it was supposed to do. Really feel for you.
 
amyrosemoore

amyrosemoore

i know how you feel, i had emergency surgery 23rd october and spent 7weeks in hospital as my tummy opened up i had 2 wound infections, which was horrible and the fluid coming out was thick and green and just kept pouring out and leaking through the dressings. i ended up having to have a 2nd op to clean the wound, since then i have it packed daily and it is getting better with hardly any fluid now (although dressings in the wound are always wet) it no longer leaks and is not the thick green it was before...i know it seems like it will never end it will, i felt exactly the same as you but am now getting better slowly but surely. i really hope you start to feel more positive and healing up soon :) amy x
 
warge

warge

amyrosemoore - this is just what mine is like at the moment , horrible !!! I made the nurse keep the dressing last night until the doctor had seen it and he was surprised at it as he has not seen the dressings before! He does not want to open me up again and has ordered a ct scan for 27th Dec to see what is happening inside. I really need to get back to work as my wage will be cut soon.
 
warge

warge

Amyrosemoore - Unfortunately I have to wait until next Thurs 3rd Jan until I can see the doc about the results as he is not in until then:-( I am really hoping that I am not going to have another op as I cannot afford to be off work with no money coming in. I am thinking of going down the disability road to see if I can qualify. It is taking me nearly an hour to get myself washed and dressed in a morning because I cant get into the shower, then I have to go to the private clinic to have the dressings changed which can take over an hour in some cases:-(

I got really depressed over the last few days and if it had not been for a friend I think I would not have got myself over it. Thank goodness for friends!
 
Stressed Mom

Stressed Mom

So sorry your struggling warge :hug: my son had the same surgery Oct 30 this year and the recovery was a challenge but he is finally starting to feel better now and I'm sure once you get this nasty infection cleared up you will start to feel better too.

I also had to take time off work to care for him and the financial stress hit me too but we managed although I am still trying to catch up bills now too so I can certainly understand your frustration but things will get better :ysmile:

Take care of yourself first sometimes everything else just has to wait :ghug:
 
warge

warge

Hi everyone

Well it turns out that it is a stitch inside that has not disolved and is infected! I have to see him again in a month and if it has not come out on its own he will open me up and take it out. I think that if it has been there 2 months it is not going to come out in a month somehow!

They are going to try something tomorrow with the dressings so that my tummy can heal instead of having gunk on it all the time.

I have a feeling that I will be having another op.

Warge
 
Grumbletum

Grumbletum

Kind of mixed news, huh? It must be a relief that they've found the source of the infection, but I hope it doesn't end up in another op :-(
 
M

MsOJ

Damn stitches I hate them at the moment.
I went to see my practice nurse to have my stitches out yesterday, she took them out and stuck and bandage on. As she didn't wash the area I thought I would do a further clean up to wipe off any debrise and I then felt a stitch so I got a pair of tweezers and was able to remove about a 1.5cm thread. I then inspected further to find another nodule which was complete stitch which I had to cut and remove... Not sure what she was thinking and am now worried that there might be more stitches embedded that I can't see.
Grrrr it always seems like you have to check the obvious even when you are in the hand of the 'experts' - rant over

On the positive side at least you know what's causing your issue and how it can be resolved. Once this is resolved and you're back to full health all the negatives will start to melt away :)
 
warge

warge

Next installment trying new dressings as my tummy is being compromised and had a rash from the gunge coming out.

First dressing - a bag for collecting gunge from wounds, which was quite large with a large "tap" at the bottom and this came to about 3 inches down my leg and scratched like mad, tried all sorts of different clothes and ways to fold it over - to no avail.

Second dressing - children's stoma bag, lot softer and smaller. Lets hope it does the job.
 
warge

warge

Bag did ok until this morning and it leaked at the top, i presume that it came away from my skin at the top. Anyone got any ideas? Of course if my tummy was flat (which of course it isnt, far from it) it might stay stuck:-(
 
Grumbletum

Grumbletum

Hey there. There's some good advice about leaking bags on the Stoma Subforum - this thread for example. Although you don't have an actual stoma, maybe the principle is the same? Have you still got a lot of discharge?
 
warge

warge

yes unfortunately i have had to open and release contents twice. It is very smelly as well. I am getting quite a few pains as well on that side, I assume that my body is trying to expel the stitch:-(

I think in the 2 days I have had it on there has been at least an eggcup full.
 
warge

warge

Ok thought we had cracked it today, tried another bag with some special plasters which are working fine but now I have a leak at the bottom of the bag:-( I suppose we might get it right soon:-(
 
warge

warge

Well keep your fingers crossed everyone I am on the second day without any problems:) This might just work.
 
warge

warge

had the dressing done Tuesday, went today for it changing and everything has worked fin, dont have to go back until next Tuesday. Nurse thought she could see a bit of a stitch but couldnt get any. Hopefully it might be a sign that it is coming out on its own.
 
warge

warge

Well I thought everything was going well, on Thursday got another problem. Bleeding when I go to the loo, even when I went for a wee yesterday there was blood in the loo.

Couldnt get to the specialist on Friday night because of the snow and hoping to get in on Monday to see him:-(

I am supposed to be going back to work on Wed part time next week and this might just put me back.

Anybody got any ideas what it could be?
 
warge

warge

Nothing sinister just going to the loo has made the skin on my bottom very thin and delicate. On the plus side he is giving me some more antibiotics to see if the stitch will behave itself.
 
warge

warge

At last the pesky stitchis beginning to fade:) The green gunk is slowing down and it looks like I might be on the last stage.

At last I can look forward, it has been a long time and thought it would never sort itself out.
 
warge

warge

Just when I thought everything was going well and the stitch was either going ot behaving itself - not to be, I have had a lot of itching and today when they took the dressing off I have loads of blisters and seem to have become allergic to the dressing-(
 
Susan2

Susan2

How disappointing! How is the stitch? Is it at the stage where you can leave the dressing off so that the blisters can heal? Or have they given you a different dressing?
 
warge

warge

The stitch seems to be behaving no output as such. Blisters are not as bad today, taking 2 lots of antihistamines:) going to leave the dressings on until fri and see what they are like then.

If i didnt have bad luck would have no luck at all:-( Just want to get back to normal niw:-(
 
warge

warge

At last good news, no more dressings there is no output from the stitch and my tummy is dry:) Can get in the shower at last and dont have to go back to the hospital until I see doc on 14th March.

Just got to get the others in my family well now:)
 
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