Recovery time for bowel resection

[debbiecann]

Evening ladies, I am going in to have a terminal ileum resection to remove a carcinoid tumour and wondered if anyone could tell me how long the recovery time will be? Thanks, Deb

[charlie12]

Hi there

I had a full hysterectomy in January 2010 and a second laporotomy in June 2010. I am not sure what your operation will entail , I am sure that other ladies will be able to offer better advice, but this is just my experience following these procedures.

It kind of depends on what you mean by recovery time...I was able to go out and about after a week or two , was back at work 9 weeks after the first operation and 6 weeks after the second. It took months to feel anywhere near normal after each operation . It is really important to not lift anything heavy for several weeks.

Your personal recovery will depend probably on your age, your fitness before the operation ,the extent of the surgery especially the size of the incision , any other illnesses , the skill of the surgeon etc etc. If you need chemo afterwards this May impact on your recovery.

I hope this helps and I really really hope that you make a very speedy and full recovery.

Love Charlie xxxx

[doodoolatrice]

Hi I had to have two sections of my bowel removed when I had my debulking surgery. It took a few days for my bowel to settle down after my surgery as it went into a bit of a sulk. After my surgery I had to be careful what I ate for about six months, I quickly learnt what foods to avoid. Apples and peas were the worst culprits and did cause a lot of discomfort a few hours after eating them. Also it took a while for my bowel movements to become normal again. Good luck with your surgery. Take care love Kerry x x. P.s. A year after my surgery everything is in perfect working order.

[vipervictoria]

It will depend on how much and what exactly is removed. Your surgical team will be able to explain more, alas after you have had the surgery. You will be laid up for a while, with tubes coming out of the surgical site probably. After that, you just have to take it a minute at a time, and then 10 minutes at a time, and so on. It helps if you can listen to your favourite music, watch TV, maybe read a book.

For sure you are better off without the tumour. It will take time and patience, but touch wood all will go well and in a week or two, you will be back telling us all about it. Vxxx

[MargaretJ]

I had a bowel resection in December 2011 resulting in a colostomy. Despite waking up in HDU I was up by 10 AM in a hair though not allowed to walk. The catheter came out after a couple of days and I was helped to walk on day 2. No other tubes! Out of hospital after 10 days, once the stoma "worked". I went to my daughter's for 6 weeks convalescence and was able to get out and about though tired easily. I came home and was able to drive etc though had to take care about lifting things. Of course I am 73 so going back to work was not an issue.

I am now fine though back on chemo.

Hope it helps.

M

[tntknc]

After having a radical hysterectomy and debulking and also a resection of my colon at my rectum in January 2013, I was in the hospital 10 days. They let me go home even though I had not had a bowel movement, I was passing gas and they said that was important. As stated above from the other ladies, be patient with yourself and do watch what you eat and be diligent with taking your stool softeners. In my case my colon "went to sleep" and after being home and taking my stool softeners I still had not had a bowel movement after 9 nine days! Please don't wait that long! I wish that my onc or nurses would have told me sooner than the ninth day to take Magnesium Citrate to help move things along. It is very strong but really works for getting things moving again! But in telling you maybe it will help you if you also get in that position. I hope that you have a very smooth operation and recovery as that is plenty on your plate without having any further bowel issues. I hope this helps you with some information for the "just in case" scenario but try hard not to worry about things, you may just not have any problems at all!