radiacal surgery really confused please help

[Endoworrier74]

my gynea said he was gonna do radical surgery and treatment of my endo and mention somthing about cutting the peritoneal im soo worried and confused has anyone heard of this

[Impatient]

I think you might mean Total Peritoneal Excision surgery.

Take a look at this video

surgerytheater.com/video/11... explains the procedure by the surgeon who pioneered this surgery and is one of the named accredited endo surgeons on the BSGE website.

I can't name him on this forum, but the link tells you who it is.

It has on this forum had very good results for those who have had it done.

If you are getting this on the NHS lucky you. It is not an op that is routinely done for all endo ladies...more's the pity !!

The peritoneum is the huge sac just under the skin surface of your entire lower tummy region below the diaphragm (bottom of rib cage) down to your bum.

It contains all the gynae organs, intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys, spleen, gall bladder, appendix, bowel, bladder etc. Just about everything that is targetted by endo as well as the endo itself often growing on the peritoneal lining of the peritoneum which is a thin layer of tissue you can do without.

The area coloured pink in the following picture

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:...

Just google "Total Peritoneal Excision" if you want to learn more. Or use the search box on the green bar at the top of this page to find previous discussions of this surgery on the forum.

[Hidden in reply to Impatient]

Amazing link.... Thank you Impatient.

I wished I could have this procedure performed by the surgeon involved.. Unfortunately he only works in the private sector now.

X

[hayls]

Hi

Just to say that it may not necessarily be the TPE op inpatient has mentioned above that your surgeon is referring to. There are a few specialist endo surgeons that do "radical excision" and they refer to the surgery as this to distinguish between the patch excision done by some other surgeons. I had radical excision last year, which involved excision of everything including having sections of the lining of the peritoneum stripped but not all of it completely (as is the case with TPE). This op is different from patch excision as it is more extensive - which is a good thing! Try searching for info on "radical excision", although be aware that each surgeon's radical excision procedure will vary slightly as all good endo surgeons piorneer their own approaches to the surgery but all will be largely similar.

It is a big op and will take time to recover as it can involve a lot of dissection but the results are good, I'm now 6 months on and my pain levels are dramatically improved! x

[Endoworrier74]

How long do u rekon the proceder takes im just trying to find out all the info I can x

[hayls in reply to Endoworrier74]

Hi

Yes the video is definitely helpful.

How long it will take is different for everyone as our endo develops differently, and it will also depend on if you need an endo colorectal surgeon or endo urologist to be involved in the surgery as well. I'm not entirely sure how long my surgery was, it did end up being split across 2 ops 8 weeks apart unfortunately. The 2nd op was longer than the first. I only stayed in 2 days with the first (had op at 8.30am and left hospital at 10pm the following night) but stayed in 5 days with the second op. Unfortunately its one of those things that you cant know for certain but its definitely hours not minutes.

My advice would be to note down all your questions and try to email them through to your consultant (via his secretary if necessary) as he will be able to give you the best answers in your case x

[Impatient in reply to Endoworrier74]

I had a laparotomy surgery and a lot done and all told took about 4-5 months to be op pain free, however - i was driving a car at about 8 weeks after,

((returning to the gym in a gentle way - is about 10 weeks after a lap op, so longer if you have a laparotomy (big hole)) .

We do all recover at different rates and the pains we feel will depend on what else is done inside you at the same time.

Also take in to account what work you do, sitting at an office desk is going to be a lot easier to cope with than working with a class of kids, or carrying heavy items in manual labouring work. I would guesstimate that 8 weeks is probably a reasonable minimum for any significant excision surgery.

You should however be able to get up out of bed the same day at the op, regardless of the type, but it sure will hurt a lot for a few weeks to do anything much beyond getting to the loo and pottering about the house.

[Lilly83 in reply to Endoworrier74]

I had excision of stage 4 from everywhere and TPE my op was about 6 hours x

[Impatient]

thanks hayls - you could well be right -as she did mention radical in the heading. at any rate - the video is a useful thing to watch and provides a lot of info about why this surgery is done and is necessary to be done too.

And Barb - If I had the money - I'd have it too. It's one of those surgeries that makes a lot of sense if you are riddled with endo like some of us have been.

[Lilly83]

Hi girls, I had excision of stage 4 and TPE, I was in surgery for 6 hours, 2 nights/3 days in hospital and then 9 days after the surgery was back at work.

I had bladder, bowel, pod, sacrial ligaments, 2 hydrosalpinx so tubes out, ovaries resected, ureters unblocked, everything untangled etc, oh and 18cm cyst

Sounds like you have a good surgeon x