hello, iam new to this forum.....I was diagnosed in February 2023 with anal cancer T4 N1 M0...and with a rectovaginal fistula to boot ! I underwent a defuntioning colostomy in march 2023 followed by 6weeks chemoradiation in may/June 23. I initially had a good response but on my 6mth scan there were signs of a small increase in tissue so i underwent an examination under general anaesthetic to take biopsies. The results came back 2 weeks ago to show that there were cancer cells still present. Iam due to have the elape procedure this coming Tues .....2 more sleeps!! My consultant said he is confident he can get the remaing cells and remove the fistula......iam really just asking if anyone has recently had this procedure and has any tips for recovery, as iam aware its a biggie!!....iam told lying on your side for a couple of weeks is needed but can you lie on your back in bed if no pressure is on the wound? I've a thousand questions running around in my head so any help would be great, many thanks in advance.
If you type ‘Elape’ in the search box at the top of this page there’s quite a few posts that you could have a look at. If you want to tag someone so you can ask them something then type a ‘@‘ followed by their name (no space) and you should be able to click on their name from the pop up box which will notify them?
I’ve attached a link to a booklet about operations which has some handy checklists - an extra long charging cable is a must - and I hope it goes well
