Please share your right hemicolectomy experience

[KatyK]

Hi all! First of all I want to thank you in advance for sharing your stories on this forum. It has helped me feel somewhat better already! More specifically I'd like to know about your experience with right hemicolectomy surgery.

Mine is going to be attempted laparoscopically. Previously I had to have the traditional open surgery to remove a tumor on my appendix that also crushed a portion of my small intestine. It took the doctors 4 days to decide to do surgery since they could not figure out WHY I had a bowel obstruction. I do remember the recovery from this surgery was quite rough. The 6 inch incision with staples and the NG tube were the parts I remember being the worst. I was on TPN since I was pregnant at the time and did not eat or drink for several days prior to surgery. So to make a long story short, once the NG tube came out I felt SO MUCH better. Once I got home, I felt weak and the 6 inch incision was quite sore for about 2 weeks.

My pathology report came back that my tumor might metastasis, so a right hemicolectomy is the next treatment of choice. I'd like to know your story about a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy. Does anyone know if laprascopic is far less painful than open surgery? How long did it take for your bowels to work again? Did you have any major complications? And lastly, people keep trying to scare me about losing my cecum ( that valve to keep your stool back) and that I will have diarrhea for the rest of my life. Are you having any long term bowel issues or are you back to normal? I'm a teacher so using the restroom whenever I want it not realistic...you can't leave kids unattended. If you can share some of your experience about recovery from this surgery, how long it took to feel normal again ( if you do hopefully), and any insite if laprascopic will be better than open, I'd appreciate it. I've got an 8 week old baby I'd like to resume taking care of her asap.

[jhocno197]

Laprascopic is typically much less painful.

[KimT]

I've had 4 abdominal surgeries. One laproscopically which was my right hemicolectomy. Overall recovery is quicker but in my experience there is no difference in the first couple of weeks. I had a second colon resection a year later in Thailand due to poor healing where my intestines are reconnected. It was open but it was a much easier surgery for me. For one, ng tubes are not routinely used in Asia. My surgeon told me that they seem to cause more pain and distress in patients. I was also allowed to have coffee, tea, and water immediately even before I passed gas. The ng was the worst part of the surgery for me. They would have to tie my hands down to ever get one in me again. If I had use of my hands, I would yank that sucker out.

My bowels have never gone back to normal completely. I did lose my cecum. I will have diarrhea randomly. Not all the time, maybe every couple of weeks. I cannot eat a lot of corn or popcorn as it will tear my guts up. I can eat corn in like a vegetable soup but not a side of it or corn on the cob. I have recently cut out gluten and it seems to be helping with the random diarrhea.

[Travelgirl]

Hi just had this surgery on 1/11 to remove my cecum along with, one foot of my intestines removed. Part of my small colon along with some of my large colon. They also took twenty lymph nodes..

They went through my belly button.

For the surgery I was given pain medicine through a spinal tap. Plus the drug Michael Jackson killed himself on. The pain was minimal. To be dead honest. They gave me some hydrocodene after surgery but primarily two Tylenol alternating with two ibuprofen. I was in the hospital for five nights and six days. Plus they wanted me to stay in hotel close to the hospital for one more day and night. Just in case. Day three I still wasted having a bowl movement the food I was eating had backed up to the back of my throat. They had to give me something to jump start my system again. That was pretty uncomfortable and painful my stomach hurt. But once I started going, I felt better. You may not have any issues like that. ( I also have lymphoma so that may of played a part of cause, I am young they claim 53. Sometimes us youngsters end up having that issue)..

Now when you get home you need to watch what you eat. i love black licorice.. Well that is now on the do not eat list. I was on the toilet for a day..

Try to eat slow chew your food good. Stay away from super spicy foods. I also have GERD so I have to be careful.
Did they give you a list of foods you can eat right after surgery? The first two weeks no fiber, no fresh fruits or vegetables?
EAT lots of protein so you heal well.

I am a littl over one month post surgery. I won't lie baby steps when it comes to exercise and walking. I walked four miles on Valentine's and I was in pain for three days.. Eating out is a challenge too. I have to order bland food or my stomach hurts.. I am still sore around the belly button.. But the doctor said it takes months to heal.. As soon we start to feel good we think we can do anything, and we can't. It will set us back a week. NO lifting over ten pounds.

They used by the way titanium staples to stitch my colon back together. I would assume that is what they All use.
Now I will admit I have a high pain tolerance. So I never took the hydrocodene they sent me home with. I only been taking two Tylenol over the counter stuff. When my belly aches. Usually about once a day..

I wish you the best.. Let us know how it all turns out..

[Travelgirl]

The cecum by my understanding absorbs water from your food. It helps to keep us hydrated.

i try and drink more water..

As far as diarrhea I have only had it 4 times. In the last month The rest of the bowl movements have been normal. I been trying to stick to a bland diet. Nothing spicy or heavy. You have to learn to let your system get used to eating food again.

Bland food chewing your food very well.. So it digests in the tummy faster. Drink lots of fluids. I find organic coconut water helps my stomach. Also aloe water another drink that soothes my stomach issues.

Some foods now also make you more gassy when eaten. I have found.

If I think of more I will let you know.

But otherwise I have no issue.. Not much different of life than before. Just a sore belly but they claim that will go away.

[KatyK]

The cecum by my understanding absorbs water from your food. It helps to keep us hydrated.

i try and drink more water..

As far as diarrhea I have only had it 4 times. In the last month The rest of the bowl movements have been normal. I been trying to stick to a bland diet. Nothing spicy or heavy. You have to learn to let your system get used to eating food again.

Bland food chewing your food very well.. So it digests in the tummy faster. Drink lots of fluids. I find organic coconut water helps my stomach. Also aloe water another drink that soothes my stomach issues.

Some foods now also make you more gassy when eaten. I have found.

If I think of more I will let you know.

But otherwise I have no issue.. Not much different of life than before. Just a sore belly but they claim that will go away.

Thank you so much for all this information. My first bowel resection was only a resection if the small intestine. I do remember the low-residue diet. I ate very slowly and not much the first 3 weeks, but then I started to feel much better and I am back to eating anything I want.

A right hemicolectomy sounds much more serious since I will be losing so much more intestines. You give me hope that I won't have horrible long-term effects. I am terrified of losing control of my bowel movements. As I mentioned earlier, I am a teacher and I can't just run out of my classroom and leave kids unattended. That is a lawsuit waiting to happen...

Most people are saying I will have bad diarrhea after this surgery and possibly for life. Is there anyone else out there who can give me some reassurance that this might not happen? Or did your bowel functions at least turn back to normal after a healing period of a month or two after a right hemicolectomy?

[Travelgirl]

I was scared as hell just like you.

I travel all over the world alone giving talks in front of hundreds of people. And trust me when I first heard that I would surgery, I was on here nonstop talking about my panic attacks. Look at my feed on here. They nick named me tissue girl... I couldn't stop crying..

I had about four inches of my small colon and everything from there into large colon removed which included the cecum .. A total of one foot taken... And was never consistent going to the bathroom i am more consistent now. And to be on the safe side if I am out. I bring with me wet toilet wipes just in case. Baby wipes work too.. note I have yet to use them away from home.

However I am a gigantic worry wart some might call me. You should see how I travel.. I bring everything including water purifying tablets. My husband looks at my suitcase and goes ok your missing the floaties .. How you going to swim across the ocean?

My understanding and my doctors are at mayo clinic. They said if your having loose bowel movements to eat rice, bananas , things that help to stop you from having loose bowel movements. Which I did and it worked. It has only been loose when I ate something that did not agree with me. Like licorice or creamy white Italian sauces. They no longer agree with me. I'm Italian and it's killing me. Cause I love that stuff.

Eating salads for the first time made caused me to have diarrhea.. But it cause my boy didn't have that for a long time.
Send me a message anytime..
Goodvluck

[KimT]

The vast majority of people go back to normal as far as bowel movements go. I have never lost control of my bowels since my surgeries. My GI doctors have said it is unusual that I do have diarrhea a couple times a month. It really doesn't affect me. It usually only happens once and then it's over. It doesn't last all day. It doesn't stop me from doing anything. I do keep Imodium with me at all times but in the 5 years since my last resection, I've only needed it once. I had diarrhea at Disney in September and took the Imodium. I joked with my husband that it probably wouldn't work because it had been in my purse for years. It is probably something I'm eating and if it happened more often, I would try to figure it out. The corn is a known trigger. If it eat too much of it, it feels like razor blades are moving through my guts.

[KatyK]

For one, ng tubes are not routinely used in Asia. My surgeon told me that they seem to cause more pain and distress in patients. I was also allowed to have coffee, tea, and water immediately even before I passed gas. The ng was the worst part of the surgery for me. They would have to tie my hands down to ever get one in me again. If I had use of my hands, I would yank that sucker out.

My bowels have never gone back to normal completely. I did lose my cecum. I will have diarrhea randomly. Not all the time, maybe every couple of weeks. I cannot eat a lot of corn or popcorn as it will tear my guts up. I can eat corn in like a vegetable soup but not a side of it or corn on the cob. I have recently cut out gluten and it seems to be helping with the random diarrhea.

I completely agree about the NG tube. It might just be the WORST thing in the world. I had one with my first surgery because the tumor caused a bowel obstruction and I kept throwing up.

Did you have any problems with nausea after your surgery without the NG tube? My surgeon said I won't need an NG tube this time as long as I don't throw up.

[KatyK]

Travelgirl- it is great to hear you are doing so well not that far out of surgery. I just want to thank you for all the advice and reassurance. I am glad to hear my bowels will probably be just fine in due time.

I too am a major worry-wart. I think it is a defense mechanism for me. By worrying about every possible nasty outcome in a situation, I feel like I'm trying to be prepared for it or get educated enough to avoid it from happening. The thing is ( which I find hard to accept) I can't control cancer...it just happens. And worrying won't fix it. However, you have definitely helped me feel more relaxed about it.

[ForDad]

Hi KatyK,

It's been almost two years since my dad's right hemicolectomy. He had his cecum, appendix, and a big chunk of the large intestines removed. He eats the same stuff as he used to (moderate amount of everything — he hasn't cut out anything from his diet) and has regular bowel movements everyday. He passes gas a bit more than before, but we're overall very happy with his recovery from the right hemicolectomy.

Best wishes to you,
Sue

[afiegl]

I had an extended right hemicolectomy last year (so, the whole right side plus most of the middle/transverse colon was removed, because there was a tumor in my transverse). It was laparoscopic, and I spent 5 days in the hospital. I had the same big fear going into surgery -- that I would never regain normal bowel function and that it would interfere with my ability to work. And to be honest, I had really awful diarrhea when my bowels "woke up" a few days after surgery, while still in the hospital. That lasted maybe a week, I think? I was absolutely terrified that it was permanent, but it wasn't!

Please DON'T do what I did after getting discharged and take lots of Imodium on top of the opiod pain pills, which are also constipating -- that landed me back in the hospital with a bowel obstruction a few days later. Just let things, uh, flow. Accept that your colon is mad as heck about what it's been through. But it will ultimately heal and things WILL go back to normal, or at least a new normal. For me that has meant that I now go maybe 2-3 times a day instead of once, and it's a bit looser, but certainly not uncontrollable. Hasn't altered my lifestyle in the long run. I just think of it as having less storage capacity. So I don't eat huge meals, but then again I never really did. Avoided fiber as much as possible for the first month, and supplemented with Orgain protein shakes to keep my nutrition up to par. But now I'm back to a normal diet including lots of fruits and veggies with no issues.

Wishing you the best of luck and a speedy recovery! You will get through this!!!

[KatyK]

Thank you all for your advice. The doctor thinks I will be fine and should be able to hold my little one soon. Although I am still very nervous, you have helped me feel more prepared. Can't wait to get this behind me.

[elise]

I had a laprascopic right semi-colectomy and later an open liver wedge resection....

my pros/cons....

laprascopic:
-they use gas to fill the cavity and much of it gets trapped. It hurts like a son of a bitch in your shoulders when you stand up. Crippling. (now I was on a fentanyl epidural so shoulders had no pain relief)
-I was walking same night (just up for a minute or two) and doing laps of the unit by day 3, laps of the entire hospital by day 5 (like 60 min walks)
-definitely up and walking normally by the time I got home on day 7
- several small incisions were easy to heal and caused almost no adhesions
-staples were used and were easy to remove after 10 days or so
- scars have almost disappeared after a few years
-easier to keep clean initially

open:
-took longer to be able to walk normally after. I was hunched over for about 8 weeks
-sleeping was harder since the incision was much larger (like 10" versus 2")
-I was up by the next day doing a lap of the ward with very manageable pain (no gas pain which was so nasty)
- my scar healed with major adhesions which still cause nerve pain needing daily meds & everything under the scar has no feeling
- end result is a large scar

Given an option, I'd go laprascopic and get ready for a few days of nasty shoulder pain when the gas creeps up there. A few minutes after lying down it goes away.

Good luck!

Elise

[Thetoad]

Hi. Thought I would add my bit. My extended right hemicolectomy was just over 27 months ago. It was an emergency as there was a blockage and they found it from a CT scan. A very swollen piece of bowel and four to five litres of liquid unable to move. Quickly into theatre. It was caught in time, there was a small perforation well away from the blockage. The good news is that there was no chemo, no bag, lymph nodes (22) OK and no metastasis. And blood tests since then, CT scan and a one year colonoscopy all very reassuring. Now, the bowel movements. I was advised to take a fibre supplement, Konsyl D, which I did after about 18 months. I was not given any dietary advice and didn't ask. At present I usually have two a day, the first one soon after I wake up and the second a few hours later. Semi solid and quite unpleasant respectively. Now this just seems normal for me. I am sometimes careful with what I eat, other times I am no different from before the surgery. Nobody seems bothered, my Dr simply said, "at least you're getting rid of it now..."
All this probably doesn't help, but I'm simply accepting that this is me now and I'm really lucky to be able to write this. Hope all goes well for everyone!