Right Keyhole Hemicolectomy

Hi Georgia,

its difficult to say exactly what your husbands needs will be as everyone is different, but what i can do is give an overview of how i did things following the same surgery (albeit they ended up fully opening me up), and everything my Wife did to help me when i returned home

all i wore for the first 2 weeks were slip on shorts and button up shirts, this made things very easy, i needed help with socks if i wore them for at least the first week, i wore slippers or trainers, the trainers being with laces but loose enough to be able to slip them on without bending down. My scars did not have dressings as they glued the openings up, you can safely shower after the first 24 hours following surgery so your husband should be fine by the time he returns home.

My wife prepared all my meals, we put a chair and small fold away table in our bedroom so i pretty much stayed in our bedroom for the first few days, this allowed me to sit up, lay down and rest if needed, and eat from the table rather than in bed. I ventured downstairs occasionally for light exercise before i started to go out and walk a lot more after being home a few days. after being home 2 weeks i was able to do some cooking so long as its not with heavy pans ( i love cooking so its been difficult not doing any), and make sandwiches snacks as and when i needed them.  

for the first few walks outside my Wife came with me just to make sure i was fine, she also took care of collecting any prescriptions i needed, to be fair she did everything i needed help with in the early days being back home. i doubt i would have recovered as quickly as i am doing without the help she gave me early on.

I hope this helps

Thank you so much that is really helpful - it  just somehow feels good to be able to plan and have some ideas in place, especially useful about the dressings as I was about to purchase a load online. I’m glad to hear your recovery went well.

Hi Georgia L I had or should I say planned to have keyhole surgery for right hemicolectomy like your husband and unfortanately i ended up having full open surgery, then my bowel went into something called post op ileus where it just wouldnt function. So it depends on how he will be in the recovery stage as at 58 now, i didnt expect to be in hospital a whole month after with post op complications. I was intially informed that I would  be out in 3-5days and that wasnt the case. Coming home you can still find that the effects of the anaesthetic  can stay in your system and can make you feel very tired and sleepy. I was sleeping sometimes at 3pm or going to bed at 5pm in the afternoon. So if he is tired he may want to intially stay in night clothing during the day and rest. He may only fancy light meals as I was told that all the organs can swell and be affected post surgery. I was also vomiting so had to have sickness medication.I would stick to bland foods intially, cut out dairy and especially  sugar as cancer feeds off the sugar. He can take up to 3 months to get back to normal and maybe longer if the surgery is not straight forward. I would just take one day at a time and if you need any support when he is home, give us a shout. I hope his surgery goes well and he is free of any post op issues.    

Hi Georgia L

I had an keyhole  extended R hemicolectomy last October. … I remember day 2 was definitely the worst … after that every day got better.  
you can lift your arms up etc but button up is better as he will have a Canula in his hand for about 3-4days 

i had small dressings over each ‘hole’ and a longer dressing over the longer length incision  …so showering was easy and they get you showering in hospital from day 2 anyway. My stitches just dissolved 

I was back at work albeit gingerly after 2 weeks ( I was 58) ….. bowel habits stabilised pretty quickly and I was eating most things pretty quickly except things with pips incase they blocked the join. Pretty sure I had to cook meals.quite early on as hubby is hopeless !! Oh and nothing heavier to carry than about half a kettle for a few weeks !!!   But everyone has a different experience in their recovery there are extremes either way  

you are almost thru the hardest part and hopefully he has a good mri result and you can both get on with getting the bugger out 

wishing you all the best !! 

Hi Georgia L and welcome to the board. I had to have an MRI after my CT scan showed something in my liver but it was a harmless cyst called a hemangioma- apparently they are very common and you can go all through life not knowing you have one unless you’re scanned.

You've had some great replies so far. I would agree that a loose button shirt is probably best due to the canula and also the daily visit from the consultant who might want to listen to his chest. 
The main thing to avoid when recuperating is lifting anything heavy and no driving for about 6 weeks. I popped a small cushion or towel between the seatbelt and my wound when travelling as a passenger which felt comforting - it also helps to do that when you cough or sneeze or pop your hand over the wound.

Ive attached a link to a booklet about the op and there’s a list of handy things to take with you

Glad you feel a comfort from posting - we’re all at various stages of treatment/recovery and happy to help support you and your hubby through this 

Take care

Karen x

Thank you so much - so much great information and tips - I know everyones recovery journey is different but its a great help knowing some of the tips which can help him through x 

Thats a great tip regarding the driving cushion and also the coughing/sneeze tips as he has had quite bad hay fever this year - lol as if we dont all have enough to contend with lol x 

Just realised I didn’t attach the link to the booklet!

bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/.../YourOperation_BowelCancerUK.pdf