Hello everyone,
I am really hoping for some insight on what is going on with my Dad (76) post surgery (TEM). He had a low anterior resection due to a stage 1 tumor with no lymph node involvement, and an ileostomy. He was pretty good on the first day- ate a meal the next morning, no pain (epidural). However, he has eaten nothing for almost two days (tiny bites, just a few). He says his reflux will not allow him to eat. They are giving him medication but nothing is helping. He won't even drink the nutritional shakes (don't know why hospitals give these as they are full of corn syrup). They provide food that I have read might not be appropriate to his surgery (grapefruit, juice with pulp, peppery soups, but maybe that is beside the point as he is not eating. He is being hydrated through IV, but has no other nutrition.
Can anyone who has been thorough (or known someone who has) help me to know what to watch out for? I know how important nutrition is to recovery- and recovery is hindered for post operative malnutrition/weigh loss. I'm so worried about this. Could it be a paralytic ileus? My Dad had 5 days of pre operative radiation (5 days) and the surgery took 6 hours (was supposed to be 5, started out as laproscopic and turned into an open surgery) The doctor says he had never seen such extensive radiation damage- sticky tissues etc. I am worried the radiation techs messed up his dosage, my Dad seems very despondent. Also, his voice is very hoarse, could this be caused by tracheal damage?
I thank everyone for any thoughts..