Puffy Stomach after surgery??

[sheryl53]

Like several posts on here; i had lapriscopic surgery on my colon. they went in on the right side because that is where the polyp was closest. i had the surgery done feb.14,2011. now i admit was not flat like a couple were on here..haha ; but i now have the bulge or puffy area above the incison. while i read here that this was "normal", how long do i have to go around looking like i dont know when to quit eating?

[chessamay]

Cynnycai the crackles you felt as you described bubble wrap is called "Crepitus".
What happens is in laparoscopic surgeries the surgeon instills CO2 gas at a certain pressure to allow visualization of the organs. That CO2 can migrate throughout the body and even subcutaneously (below the skins surface)-one of our patients even had it in his lower legs and head! It takes a while for the CO2 to absorb, but I don't know how long.
As far as the bloating weeks later that might have more to do with bowel distension, or a hernia??? and not the actual intallation of CO2 during surgery.
catherine

[Ldebnn]

I had my first surgery 12/09 bikini line to top of stomach with a colostomy, my stomach was fine after this surgery, then April of 2010 I had the colostomy reversed and have been "pregnant" ever since. I hate it, I have no clothes to wear, my surgeon says I am not a candidate for surgery any time soon since the two major surgeries. I have gained 10lbs but look like I have gained 50. I am getting really discouraged. He says he would have been in mesh for my stomach walls during the last surgery, but there was nothing to adhere to.

[Sick of It All]

I just came home from surgery and like others am glad I found this site. With a new stoma and a stomach that looks like Buddha, I cannot even keep my underwear up, let alone an ostomy bag on. I finally solved the overall problem by wearing a very light weight compression garment. Amazingly it did not scrimp things inside, but made me feel better as my buddha-belly was at least in one place. And I can go to sleep knowing the bag will still be in one place in the morning. Hopefully, this problem resolves itself soon as I have no clothes to wear that will fit me right now

[penguin]

I've read all the comments and experiences everywhere about this surgery, but I have not read anything about what happens after. I had this surgery 4/16/07 and came home 4/20/07. The surgeon I had was awesome, left me with 3 small incisions. I shouldn't be complaining since everything was very successful and the piece of colon that had the polyp with the small trace of cancer came out negative and gave all my genetic cancer impaired family hope., but...before I went in for surgery my stomach was flat and had some muscle tone, NOW..TODAY..it is swollen and I have a pooch. I lost about 7 pounds, but I look like I've gained 15. Everytime I eat or drink, I feel like it was a Thanksgiving meal. I do have "ok" bowel movements and take pain meds that gives me a little nausea, but it keeps the pain away. Is this normal? My family says it doesn't look bad, but I KNOW what I looked like under my clothes, they didn't. I feel like my skin was stretched down so tight, that if I overeat I will pop. I just think that I am blessed it was caught early and so what if I'm left with a pooch. I'm alive. Does/did anyone have this problem? I don't want to go to the ER and wait 15 hours just for someone to say it's normal and it will pass.
puffy and bloated

I had the same problem after my colon resection but I had an abdominal incision. I always felt bloated and looked like I was 6 months pregnant. It was quite uncomfortable. Mine turned out to be an incisional hernia which had to be repaired using mesh to hold back my organs. But since you only had the 3 small incisions I doubt this is the case for you. It probably will get better on its own.

[ejrsmooth]

I have had a very distended stomach since the abdominal surgery in Feb of this year and currently have a colostomy - my stomach is quite swollen/pregnant looking and has not subsided in the 3 months since surgery - I did not have laproscopy but a full incision. I have gained weight since the surgery as I had lost about 9 lbs - currently 130 lbs. Has anyone else experieinced this? My doctor says it is not a hernia and perhaps the abdominal muscles were not reattached. I am schelduled for re-connect surgery soon. Would like to hear from anyone that has experieinced this

yes i am having the same problem looking pregnant. i had my surgery in april of this year...2011

[lharrisboyd]

I have had the same thing happen with my stomache. It is big and I had a small stomache. I have had 7 surgeries. I had a rectal/vaginal fistula. God was great to me. I had my colostomy closed October 10, 2010 after having it for over a year and a half. I had some many attempts that I almost gave up. I just began to believe. I would love to know how to get rid of this stomache pooch if anyone knows let me know.

Good luck and God bless to all of you. Just be a advocate for life is all I have to say. You have to hang in there and fight to get your life back to some normality.

Peace.

[combineman]

Just had 1/3 of my colon removed 4 days ago/feel like I gained 7 or 8 inches in my waist/been running 3 to 4 miles a day since 1971 but now I'm a guy who looks like a pregnant woman/and when I eat just a little bit of food,I feel like I've indulged in a feast,I'm so full

[Peppercat998]

I have had a very distended stomach since the abdominal surgery in Feb of this year and currently have a colostomy - my stomach is quite swollen/pregnant looking and has not subsided in the 3 months since surgery - I did not have laproscopy but a full incision. I have gained weight since the surgery as I had lost about 9 lbs - currently 130 lbs. Has anyone else experieinced this? My doctor says it is not a hernia and perhaps the abdominal muscles were not reattached. I am schelduled for re-connect surgery soon. Would like to hear from anyone that has experieinced this

Hi, I am so glad I read your post. I broke my back on Christmas 2010. They cut both my back and the left side of my abdomen to perform a nine hour surgery. Still to this day my abdomen is distended. I have had cat scans and ultrasounds all with negative results. The doctor who performed the side incision seems to suggest the nerve to the muscle was cut. I look pregnant. It's hard to get dressed in the morning. I work out five times a week without any results. I am curious about the surgery you are going in for.

[mags]

I have just tried on a dress I wore to a wedding 6 months ago assuming I would be able to wear it for another wedding this year but alas, all is not well!. I look like I am pregnant and this is after a whole 9 month since surgery and a colostomy. Can anyuone advise if this is natural after this length of time and advise me as to whether this is what to expect or if it will go down eventually. I now have to buy a complete new wardrobe! Great to be alive though!

[sq.b@laposte.net]

I had colon surgery on June 4, 2007. (Left side, descending colon.) Having been a runner since 1967 and prided in having a flat stomach, I now have the famous pooch that everyone's talking about. My husband was pissed at the surgeon for not trying laparoscopy as some people told him that that type of surgery would have not resulted in a poochy stomach. Instead surgcal cut was vertical from above the pubic bone to one inch above the navel (27 staples). If you have ever sewn a garment, it's as if one side of the stomach is larger than the other and had to be "forced or squeezed" to fit the vertical cut. Looking at it in profile, not only does the pooch stick out more than the other side, but it's also higher than the other side. Uneven and ugly. My kind of skin also doesn't scar well so add that to the picture...keloidal! Scar has also widened to 1/2.

About 10 months after the surgery, my husband took me to a plastic surgeon to get an opinion. His was that he would eventually put in a mesh to hold the stomach together, but decided against it as he saw a small hernia developing. Also that could make the scarring worse.

During my chemo (6 months, every 2 weeks, 3 days at a time), I walked for a half hour every other day. A year after that, I worked up to fast walking for an hour 3 times a week. Part of the path is on hilly and rocky terrain. Winter of 2006 I started skiing for the first time (age 61 then) and have continued up to the present time. After walking I do a half hour of floor exercises and some yoga. Still poochy though but will not give up.

On my last colonoscopy pre-exam, my anesthesiologist explained to me why my navel also is off-center (to the left). He said it depends on whether the colon surgery was ascending or descending. In my case (as I said earlier), it was descending.

Not a pretty picture, but glad to be alive!

[shelli24]

Hi, I had colon surgery in Nov 2010 and then had subsequent hernia surgeries with mesh, two of them. I have not worn a pair of jeans since !! Tight pants hurt my stomach and I look like I'm 6 months pregnant. It's awful. I can't excersize as it hurts still. Well I can't do any kind of excersize for my stomach. I'm bloated beyond belief every day. i'm very uncomfortable and self concious. I don't know what to do. If I do sit ups, I'm going to blow out my mesh; it's already being pushed to it's limits so says my Doc. And that's from bowel movements. I have to live with it I believe. Going to look into maternity jeans. I don't know what else to do. Any other suggestions?

[SkiFletch]

Old thread alert

[Lara239]

I've read all the comments and experiences everywhere about this surgery, but I have not read anything about what happens after. I had this surgery 4/16/07 and came home 4/20/07. The surgeon I had was awesome, left me with 3 small incisions. I shouldn't be complaining since everything was very successful and the piece of colon that had the polyp with the small trace of cancer came out negative and gave all my genetic cancer impaired family hope., but...before I went in for surgery my stomach was flat and had some muscle tone, NOW..TODAY..it is swollen and I have a pooch. I lost about 7 pounds, but I look like I've gained 15. Everytime I eat or drink, I feel like it was a Thanksgiving meal. I do have "ok" bowel movements and take pain meds that gives me a little nausea, but it keeps the pain away. Is this normal? My family says it doesn't look bad, but I KNOW what I looked like under my clothes, they didn't. I feel like my skin was stretched down so tight, that if I overeat I will pop. I just think that I am blessed it was caught early and so what if I'm left with a pooch. I'm alive. Does/did anyone have this problem? I don't want to go to the ER and wait 15 hours just for someone to say it's normal and it will pass.
puffy and bloated

My husband looked like he was pregnant after he had his resection, lol. It took a week for his swelling to go down. I have to give him Gas-X several times because of all the bloating.

[Angiemarie2000]

Ditto! I had the right colon surgery and my tummy is around 3 months prego and 6 after ieat. If I knew this prior, maybe they could have slipped in a tummy tuck for me

Angie