Husband Having Subtotal Colectomy on 31st..Freaking Out

[niknak1010]

My husband is going in for a subtotal colectomy on Wed. for Lynch Syndrome. I was fine at first going off of the bits of info his surgeon had given us, then I started researching on my own and basically freaked myself out. They will be taking his entire large intestine and then hooking up his small bowel to his rectum. Our biggest concern was the possible ileostomy and drainage tube (if they take regional nodes) now I'm just scared about the surgery in general.

The internet is currently driving me bonkers with stats like 1 in 100 don't make it. Is this surgery really that risky? At first they were talking about doing it with just the scope (for partial) because it's "safer", but now that they're removing it all they are saying it may be a full cut. My husband is overweight and the docs made it sound as if that could cause issues. I'm driving myself bonkers and am about ready to plead with him to call the whole thing off (though I obviously know that's not possible with cancer growing mad in there). Basically I'm looking for a little reassurance from those who have been there. Is it really as bad as I think it is? I don't want to discuss my fears with him as he has enough to deal with, hoping some of you can weigh in with fact and logic as they seem to have vanished from my mind. Thanks.

[SkiFletch]

Sounds like it's time to lay off Dr Google for a while . While the surgery is not without risks, it is a routinely performed operation with a very low complication rate, and an EXTREMELY low fatality rate in healthy individuals. The few folks who don't make it with this sort of operation usually have underlying issues like heart disease, stroke, lung disease, kidney problems, liver disease, etc. Cancer doesn't count . Any surgery is not a walk in the park and he's going to have pain and fatigue, but he should make it through OK.

I remember going into the surgery I was really freaking out the actual morning of especially since I'd never had major surgery before. Mercifully the anasthesiologist took care of that right away. Better living through modern chemistry . Try not to freak out and just be there for your husband, he should make it through just fine

[janklo]

My daughter had the whole colectomy and hookup to the small bowel and she was not in the best shape beforehand, due to being sick for a couple months and not knowing what was wrong until her cancer diagnosis. She was in the hospital 8 days, but really it wasn't that bad. She didn't get an NG tube or any drains. The only problem was getting her digestive system started backup again, which is common, I think.

She just had a chunk of small intestine removed and she is in much better health this time from eating right and working out and it took about 3 days to get everything going. She did have a drain, a little plastic ball that red fluid went in and she went home with it for about a week,but it didn't bother her.

They do this surgery all the time and you are right, it has to be done. It will fine. . .a few days of unpleasantness, but then he'll be home and getting better!

[jgall]

Maybe it would be more helpful to look at the stats from the other direction. 99 out of 100 do just fine. That's 99%. Not bad odds - I'd take them!

And, i agree with Fletch...Dr. Google hasn't taken the hipocratic oath to do no harm, so maybe his advice isn't the most helpful to you right now

Julia

[niknak1010]

Thanks to everyone for their input. It does make me feel better hearing from real people who have been there instead of random, anonymous, internet links. I'm laying off Dr. Google per your instructions AND my husbands.

[RS DAVE]

It sounds crazy but that was the advice i was given also. I also have lynch syndrome and had a sub total colectomy.
I am amazed at how little my life has changed, it took my body some adjusting but i am on a pretty normal
schedule now. The genitic counselors explained it was the best procedure because there is such a high chance
of it reoccuring in the colon. We were also lucky that they were able to idenify the gene, now my brothers
and sisters can be tested to see if they carry it. The boby is capable of amazing things. Lovin life colon free, Dave