Hi! My name is Adina. I am actually not so much a newbie to the board or CC, but I am coming out of lurkdom to ask a question.
I am scheduled for Ileostomy takedown October 18th after a subtotal colectomy w/hysterectomy last May. I was first diagnosed with CC in late November 2009 after a severe blockage brought me to the ER and a CT scan showed a tumor in the sigmoid colon. Emergency sigmoidectomy with temporary colostomy was performed where it was discovered that there were actually two primary tumors in the sigmoid. This led the docs (correctly) to believe it was a genetic cancer. Both my father and his father died of CC at relatively young ages. I tested positive for Lynch syndrome with an MSH2 mutation and told to seriously consider prophylactic hysterectomy and subtotal colectomy. But, the oncologist wanted me to complete 6 months of FLOX chemo first. My initial staging was stage 2B. But, a PET scan shortly after my sigmoidectomy and before chemo started revealed a possible tumor in the right colon with an enlarged node.
While I was going through chemo treatments, a couple of colonoscopies were attempted to verify the presence of another tumor but my stoma had stenosed so dramatically, they could not even get a pediatric scope in. The virtual colonoscopy was inconclusive. It was then decided that I would have the colectomy/hysterectomy with ileorectal anastamosis at the end of June. However, another severe blockage situation led me to have the surgery in May and the ileostomy placed. It was confirmed that there was a third primary tumor in the right colon with 1/42 lymph nodes affected which changed my staging to Stage 3A. My oncologist decided to just have me complete the last 3 months of chemo which I recently did and now have a had a clean CT and a CEA that dropped from the hundreds to 0.7.
Anyway (sorry this is so long winded) my question has to do with which incision the surgeon usually uses for the takedown? I assumed that the main vertical incision would be used, but I have seen a few people mention that the incision used to create the stoma could be used too. Laparoscopy is not possible to due severe scar tissue formation.
Thank you for any possible input any of you can give me. I know there have been a lot of topics devoted to ileostomy takedown but this was one answer I could not find.
Adina
P.S. Are adult diapers a definite purchase in my near future?