NHMike wrote:I don't own a robe so that would be a problem. Maybe a thin, long-sleeve shirt using the arms to tie around my waist or stomach? I suppose I could stop off at Marshalls tomorrow night to see if I can find one there (tomorrow night is scheduled with laundry and grocery shopping for the gum and Crystal Light or Gatorade). I can appreciate how much help is worth in a hospital visit going through this.
NHMike wrote:I was reading about the distance from the AV and the impact on reversal in another thread so I decided to look it up and it's 5.1 CM and I'm not too sure what that means but it's higher than some and lower than others.
O Stoma Mia wrote:NHMike wrote:I was reading about the distance from the AV and the impact on reversal in another thread so I decided to look it up and it's 5.1 CM and I'm not too sure what that means but it's higher than some and lower than others.
Ref: https://training.seer.cancer.gov/colorectal/anatomy/figure/figure1.html
My understanding of the anal verge is that this is the transition area where the mucus membrane of the anal canal meets the regular skin on the outside of the anus. Thus, the anal verge (AV) is at the very bottom of the anal canal. Above the AV you have about 4 cm of anal canal. Thus, if your report says that you have a 5.2 cm tumor that is 5.1 cm from the AV then this suggests that the lower part of the tumor is about 1.1 cm from the top of the anal canal, i.e., about a centimeter away from where the anal sphincters are located.
If one of the goals of the surgery is anal sphincter preservation, then the surgeon doesn't have much space to work with to remove the tumor with clear margins and still not cause any damage to the sphincters. I think this is why the treatment standard for rectal cancer is usually to have a series of neoadjuvant treatments prior to surgery in an attempt to shrink the tumor as much as possible and leave a cancer-free margin between the active tumor and the sphincters.
I also think that this is why they say that it is so important to have a Board Certified colorectal surgeon do the surgery.
Does this sound right?
mpbser wrote:re: robe: doubling up works well to cover the rear. One hospital robe facing front, another facing back
re: mets after surgery: that's why my husband took cimetidine and still takes it
Good luck!
NHMike wrote: . . . Maybe a thin, long-sleeve shirt using the arms to tie around my waist or stomach? . . .
Lee wrote:NHMike wrote: . . . Maybe a thin, long-sleeve shirt using the arms to tie around my waist or stomach? . . .
That sounds like a PERFECT solution. When I had my 1st surgery, my brother was helping me walk those 1st few days. I was not allowed to walk by myself until 2 days out. I was not allowed to use a 2 gown (even with my hernia surgery). I was cut open, both surgeries .I was told I would only be allowed 1 gown because it is easier to get out of bed and move around in bed. Yes it hurt like h*ll getting out of bed each and every time. Maybe it's my short height, butt it was ALWAYS was a 2 person process to just get me to where my feet were over the bed.
I was not a big user of pain meds. I would not take it unless I needed to butt also STRESSED, if the staff asked I would take it. I pushed that pump 1x2 times EVERY time I got out of bed. For me it was worse than having to cough.
Maybe have something just in case.
Lee
NHMike wrote:Putting your arms through holes in the front seems fairly easy. Putting something like that on the back is harder as it's not designed for that and you need better range of motion and flexibility for that.
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NHMike wrote:Paper on a posterior approach from 2014 (with pictures):
https://bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral. ... 30X-14-158
I guess that you can get an idea as to how difficult the surgery is from the paper and the pictures. The video view is with the camera with a mostly inside view. It doesn't show you how little space there is to work with.
"Low rectal cancer is a relatively common malignant disease with high morbidity and mortality rates [1, 2]. Globally, low anterior resection has been the mainstay of surgical therapy for rectal cancer since the 1970’s. Despite the best efforts of experienced surgeons, 5-year survival rates have ranged from 27% to 42% [3]. This conventional technique has also been associated with a high risk of damage to the autonomic pelvic nerve plexus, resulting in sexual and bladder dysfunction [3]."
Doing the MiraLax Prep now.
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