The surgeon started performing the operation laparoscopically
and managed to complete most (80%) of what needed to be done with the laparoscope, however, I had a very bad adhesion between the inflamed portion of my ileum and the blood supply for my colon. He could not separate these two laparoscopically, so he had to open me up to get at the adhesion, separate the tissue, and then remove the diseased portions of my ileum
My surgeon was very pleased to discover that the fistula, abscess, and inflamed intestine were all in a small well defined area. He removed 8-10 inches of my small intestine and a small bit of my large intestine too (for total of about 12 inches removed). Because of where the diseased tissue was, he removed both the appendix and the ileocecal valve. It is my understanding that this will exacerbate my diarrhea and that I can expect far more liquidy stools.
My main incision is about 4 inches long. There is also a 1 inch incision that was used for one of the bits of the laparoscope (I'm not very knowledgeable about how they do this), and another incision in my belly button.
What I remember of the surgery was talking to the anesthesiologist about the different color coded ports in his tubing. During this discussion he injected one of the drugs into one of the ports; I guessed that it was versed for the anti-anxiety effects. He confirmed my guess. I do recall him reaching for another syringe but the next thing I remember was waking in the recovery room.
Laparoscopic surgery uses 3 openings plus access through the belly button to remove materials. Since my surgery was a combination of laparoscopic surgery and conventional open abdominal surgery, I had the incisions for both of these approaches. Since I did not require the stoma and ileostomy bag, I did not get the incisions for that.
This is what my belly looks like 2 days after surgery:
Update on 8/14: It turns out that discoloration is NOT from the surgical scrub. The doctor, nurse, and I are keeping an eye on it. It could be an infection or bruise but we want to ensure that it doesn't grow.
Update on 1/15: I should have written this earlier but the discoloration shown above came from a wound infection. A day or so after the picture was taken, the doctor popped all staples off and a wound team drained 1/2 cup of pus from the wound. The discoloration was caused by that infection working its way under my skin.
The anesthesiologist used an epidural as the primary means of controlling pain. I do not know what he normally uses to control pain but usually it's dilaudid or fentanyl. Because he used fentanyl in his epidural, I assume that is what he used as his pain control medication. I also don't know what he used as a hypnotic to ensure that I slept.
It appears to me that he taped my eyes shut. This caused me problems. When I awoke, my eyes were extremely irritated and (based upon a prior incident with a damage cornea) it seemed that they damaged my right eye's corneas. Luckily, I had experienced this problem before and I knew how to treat the issue. Unluckily, the hospital didn't have the medications that I used to treat it. Since it's an OTC medication, the hospital didn't offer the type that I used for treatment (the GenTeal gel), they gave me OTC Refresh PM ointment.
Anyway, I treat myself four times over two days - essentially two per day (morning and evening) and supplemented this with Refresh Tears Eye Lubricant. Use the second one as often as necessary to remain comfortable. You might need to work with the hospital pharmacy staff to get permission to do this.
My main incision is about 4 inches long. There is also a 1 inch incision that was used for one of the bits of the laparoscope (I'm not very knowledgeable about how they do this), and another incision in my belly button.
The picture below is clinical in nature, some will find the picture below disturbing. If you are disturbed by pictures of humans and surgical incisions, you should skip reading the rest of this blog.
What I remember of the surgery was talking to the anesthesiologist about the different color coded ports in his tubing. During this discussion he injected one of the drugs into one of the ports; I guessed that it was versed for the anti-anxiety effects. He confirmed my guess. I do recall him reaching for another syringe but the next thing I remember was waking in the recovery room.
Laparoscopic surgery uses 3 openings plus access through the belly button to remove materials. Since my surgery was a combination of laparoscopic surgery and conventional open abdominal surgery, I had the incisions for both of these approaches. Since I did not require the stoma and ileostomy bag, I did not get the incisions for that.
This is what my belly looks like 2 days after surgery:
Update on 8/14: It turns out that discoloration is NOT from the surgical scrub. The doctor, nurse, and I are keeping an eye on it. It could be an infection or bruise but we want to ensure that it doesn't grow.
Update on 1/15: I should have written this earlier but the discoloration shown above came from a wound infection. A day or so after the picture was taken, the doctor popped all staples off and a wound team drained 1/2 cup of pus from the wound. The discoloration was caused by that infection working its way under my skin.
 |
| After surgery - they've removed my NG tube and monitoring electrodes but I still have oxygen, catheter, IV, epidural, and CO2 monitor lines. |
It appears to me that he taped my eyes shut. This caused me problems. When I awoke, my eyes were extremely irritated and (based upon a prior incident with a damage cornea) it seemed that they damaged my right eye's corneas. Luckily, I had experienced this problem before and I knew how to treat the issue. Unluckily, the hospital didn't have the medications that I used to treat it. Since it's an OTC medication, the hospital didn't offer the type that I used for treatment (the GenTeal gel), they gave me OTC Refresh PM ointment.
Anyway, I treat myself four times over two days - essentially two per day (morning and evening) and supplemented this with Refresh Tears Eye Lubricant. Use the second one as often as necessary to remain comfortable. You might need to work with the hospital pharmacy staff to get permission to do this.
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