APR surgery

Hi Happy 14,

I’m sorry it’s taken a while for anyone to respond to your post & I’m really sorry that you find yourself facing APR surgery. I didn’t originate in this group but the anal cancer group where if a recurrence occurs following chemoradiotherapy then APR surgery is often the option to achieve cure. SarahH21 has been offering some support in our group for members that are facing this surgery so hopefully by tagging her in this post she’ll be able to offer you some words of wisdom too. It is a pretty big surgery so I can appreciate the information overload. I hope you get a bit more clarity really soon. 

Nicola 

Hi Happy 14

Apologies for the delay in replying, and thank you Nikki65 for tagging me. However, I had TPE surgery(total pelvic exenteration) rather than the APR surgery so I don’t have the experience and advice you are looking for on this occasion. 

There are a number of members in the bowel group who have had the APR surgery and might be able to help, so I’ll try tagging Eddiestomart first as his name was the first to come into my head, although his surgery was not for recurrence. 

It is a big surgery with a lot of information to take in, but hopefully my reply to this post will boost it in the discussions and you will receive some advice from others who can share their experiences.

Sarah xx

Sorry that you are having to go through this.I didnt have APR.i had a panproctocolectomy(whole colon,rectum and anus)with an iliostomy.however if you want to read how  I got on do click on my name.then ask any questions.happy to help

Kath

Hi Happy 14. If you type APR in the search box at the top of the screen then it will bring up previous posts that you can read? 

Hi Happy 14

Sorry for not getting to this earlier.

I had APR surgery on the 4th Feb 21 and I won't lie, the surgery is not to be taken lightly, nor is the recovery.

I got myself very fit before my op and I believe this helped both during and after.

I was in hospital for 6 days and then spent around 6 weeks on painkillers before I was able to wean myself off them.

The stoma nurses and surgeons were fantastic and supportive and the suppliers so xaring and professional.

I don't worry about life with a stoma (I named him Eddie Stomart even before my surgery) and live life to the full. I write poetry and post it in the Express yourself forum on here to help myself and others cope with what is undoubtedly life changing.

My simple message: Be strong, be positive, live life

Good luck

Richard

Thank you for your reply Richard, I had a stoma op prior to treatment so at least this will be one less thing to get my head around. How did you find wound healing? Do you have any side effects from the surgery? 

Hi

Wound healing well but takes a while. I had keyhole on the front so no issues there. Rear wound was like a cornish pasty at first but reduced as time went on and stitches dissolved. All good now and sitting comfortably!!

Keep smiling

Hi Happy 14

Firstly I'm sorry that you're going through what you are. I had the APR treatment back in 2020, as Eddie Stomart said it's not surgery to take lightly and as all major surgery goes you'll have both ok times and not so ok times during your recovery. You're a little bit lucky in that you already have a stoma, for me that was the hardest thing to deal with and get used to. So perhaps we should focus on the perineal wound. I laughed at Eddie's remark that it looks a bit like a pasty, he's spot on with that and the first thing I'll say is that's normal and when you are fully back to normal this will have disappeared. You'll experience discomfort down there so you must make sure that your team acquire for you a good quality recovery pillow to sit on, life saver and will become your best friend. Don't be in a hurry to get back to normal things, it takes a bit of time for this wound to heal, and whatever you do, listen to their advice about looking after it. One thing I learnt was that at times I thought I had issues, big issues, this always turned out to be wrong and that whatever it was was easily treated or normal. I was also on strong painkillers for 6 weeks, don't be in a hurry to come off them, or give two hoots about being on them. They help you get up and move which at the right time is important for recovery. There were times when I thought it would never end, but it did, and although I don't ride bikes I'm totally happy sitting on the small seats as these days I feel no discomfort at all down there (you'll perhaps laugh a bit when you remember the bike seat thing in your early days)...

I hope that you have the support of people around you, very important to let them help. Having a "barbie butt" does have its benefits... for one it means that if ever I end up in prison, I'll find showers totally safe :-) I think a sense of humour is a very important part of healing.

I wish you luck and hope all goes well.

Steve