How to minimize surgical complications

[Ranunculaceae]

34 year old on pre-op folfox + panitumumab for stage 4, surgery to be scheduled in a couple of months. Going to have ascending colon resection (no stoma), small liver resection and a pretty massive lymph node dissection (many positive nodes around the ascending colon and retroperitoneal). Any tips on reducing the chance of adhesions/complications and recovery from surgery? Anything I can do beforehand to prepare?

[NHMike]

34 year old on pre-op folfox + panitumumab for stage 4, surgery to be scheduled in a couple of months. Going to have ascending colon resection (no stoma), small liver resection and a pretty massive lymph node dissection (many positive nodes around the ascending colon and retroperitoneal). Any tips on reducing the chance of adhesions/complications and recovery from surgery? Anything I can do beforehand to prepare?

I did a lot of core strength training between chemo and radiation and surgery. Also did a lot of walking and some running. I think that these helped with recovery and lack of pain from open surgery. Strength overall is helpful as you have to depend on other body parts to compensate for surgery weaknesses.

Learn about the preop routine and get your logistics in order.

Use a board-certified colorectal surgeon at a high-volume cancer center. There are papers out there on statistical differences between these places and others. Don't use a general surgeon.

Support helps (people to drive you, bring your things to you after surgery, etc).

[Atoq]

I also had open surgery three weeks ago and had very little pain (stopped medication after 5 days, was home on day 6) and recovered very fast thanks to my core muscles that were well trained. Adhesions are difficult to control, it seems to depend mainly on the ability of the surgeon and on whether you had previous surgery.

Good luck! Soon facing new surgery as well.

Claudia

[Basil]

The best thing you can do is find the best surgeon possible. What he/she does is going to have the greatest impact on your recovery. I realize it’s late for that now.

On the lymph node issue, I didn’t know how many would be removed during my TME and was surprised when it was 42 - especially because I was stage iii with only one suspicious node to begin with. But my surgeries went great from my point of view, with no complications and quick recoveries.

Not to hijack the thread, but I’d be interested in knowing if anyone has any thoughts on removing 42 nodes during surgery. That number seems a lot higher than other cases. I’ll ask my onc about it at my next appointment but it’s been something I’ve been wondering about.

[e_enyedy]

According to the post-op report, I had 32 nodes removed during surgery (sigmoid colectomy)
(Everything came back negative)

E

[jep]

Wishing you a successful surgery! I agree with all posters, but would like to add that even with a board certified CR specialist, there can be serious complications. My husband's surgeon is board certified and excellent and I truly believed he saved my husband's life during his emergency surgery. More than 7 months later, my husband is still grappling with a fistula and surgical drain. I think my husband's surgery was very complicated....there was more spread than expected, but they did get it all. I've posted about this before, but we wish we had not rushed to solid foods as quickly as we did. The nurses and docs seemed ok with him eating solids when he seemed ready, but that (in my opinion) seemed to lead to many complications. I wish we had stuck with a high protein liquid diet for much longer....we'll never know if his recovery would have been different, but it's worth mentioning....we truly wish you all the best....when is surgery?
jep

[Ranunculaceae]

I won’t have a choice about my surgeon at this point, but everyone I’ve mentioned his name to has said he’s skilled and he’s the head of the quality control committee for general surgeons in our area. One oncologist called him a “cowboy” hopefully that’s good? I need an aggressive surgery for a shot at cure! He’s general but oncology specialized which is best for me because it means he can do the liver resection as well in one go. Still waiting to hear if I will have surgery soon or wait till after chemo (4 cycles left). He wants everything to shrink enough that he can do it all laparoscopically, but one lymph node conglomerate was still over 3cm on my last ct.

[ocstacy]

The best thing you can do is find the best surgeon possible. What he/she does is going to have the greatest impact on your recovery. I realize it’s late for that now.

I searched and searched for the best colorectal surgeon for my mother. He was Chief surgeon and I read the reviews from his patients with lots of good reviews. We had to drive far, but all worth it if you want the best of the best. My mother's surgeon and his surgery team were able to remove all of Cancer, and she is now cancer free. They call it Near Path response. She is doing clean up chemo now. Make sure to ask your surgeon for the pre-surgery drink. https://ensure.com/nutrition-products/e ... -surgeryIt is supposed to help with the recovery. Took my mom two months to feel good again. She had to go back to the ER as she had a block and leak. She had to get on antibiotics.