bowel resection failure

Hi,

I am so sorry this has happened to your son. Sending a big hug . 

So sorry that this has happened.
I’ve been here a little while and I think that’s rare.

I know I was warned it could happen like most of us are and I signed that I’d been told about the complications that are possible but they’re rare. I signed for a permanent stoma but it wasn’t needed

I really hope that your son improves and to get Covid on top is just  awful

Take care 

Sending you a hug 

Hello carol99z,

I’m so sorry to hear this has happened, your son must have been in a lot of pain and it must have been so difficult and worrying for you. This is my story similar but slightly different – a failed join re ileostomy reversal.

Long story short:

Diagnosed with bowel cancer December 2020, operation January 2021 (LAR with temporary ileostomy) followed by 3 months of chemotherapy. Reversal of ileostomy in early March 2022 – after 1st week everything was good and I felt back to me old self, or near enough.

Between 21 May and 4th July I had 3 blockages of small bowel. Admitted to hospital each time and given Gastrografin which thankfully cleared them without need for emergency surgery. I was put on list for (elective) surgery to try and dilate the constricted area (where anastomosis was), this was delayed on 3 occasions due to more urgent cases; I was on a liquid diet for this period.
Eventually had colonoscopy with dilatation in mid July but unfortunately this led to a bowel perforation which necessitated emergency open surgery 2 days later (a right hemicolectomy) and a stint in Intensive Care. Apparently the reversal join had had a small leak which had caused scar tissue to build up at anastomosis site over a couple of months, causing a constriction

I would say it took me 9 weeks from mid July to feel human again. For the first 6 weeks if I moved at all, it caused severe burning diarrhoea and I frequently didn’t make it to the loo. I ended up being almost bed bound for that time; sitting was agony. I was extremely weak and it exhausted me to walk across the room. My wound took quite a while to heal and I lost over 10kgs and a lot of muscle tone (obviously), I wouldn’t have believed how quickly I went downhill, it was very, very frightening! At times I was scared I wouldn’t make it and at other times I was scared I would make it, but have a dreadful quality of life.

I was relatively fit before the procedures but this completely knocked me for 6 and it’s only in the last 3 weeks I feel I’m getting over it. I do wish someone had told me at the start what the 2+ months following the procedure could be like as this would have helped me cope – the LAR was a walk in the park compared to this.

I now have bowel control back (most of the time) but it appears I have bile acid malabsorbtion due to the right hemicolectomy, however, I’m controlling this at the moment with a low-fat diet. To be honest now I feel I’m on the mend I’m just glad to be alive and functioning fairly normally.

I hope this is useful info for you and your son and helps you see there is light at the end of the tunnel. I hope his Covid symptoms are very mild – it’s the last thing he needs on top of everything else. Please pm me if you think I can help with other questions you may have.

Sending you both a big hug.

Take Care. Net77x

Hi, carol99z, I believe this to be very rare, maybe the odd small leak, but not to have come undone. Not that is much comfort! Wishing you both the very best.