Success! Bowel resection and fistula removal!

Thank you to everyone who supported me in my quest for a 2nd opinion. After living with a fistula for 18 months, I finally went to Johns Hopkins. Met with a GI and a surgeon.

After the testing day from hell (colonoscopy and MRI and pre-op interview), I was scheduled for surgery at noon on April 12th. The day before I got bumped up to 7:30am (oh happy day!).

I ended up with an 8 inch incision (staples still in) but she was able to preserve just over 7 ft of my small bowel, so no short bowel syndrome! Yea!
I was in surgery for over 5 hours, which I guess is not unusual for cases like mine. She said she removed a fearsome knot of intestine with fistula running throughout. There was inflammation, adhesions and narrowing. In fact, she said she couldn't understand how anything was getting thru there!

So now I am dealing with just the joy of post-surgical abdominal pain, but I am very hopeful that this will take care of the horrible pain I have been living with for at least 5 years (not including the stupid fistual!).

I am hoping to be back to normal (or whatever passes for normal in our crowd :) by summer. Oh happy day!

Sudsmom

Hoping you will be right as rain by summer!!!

Glad to hear the surgery is over and you are doing well!!!

Was it Gearhart? She did my surgery approaching 2 years now and I've had great results! Wish the same for you!

Kim

Kandc88 -

Yes it was Gearhart! She was great to deal with so I hope her surgical skills are as good as they look on paper. It's encouraging for me to hear that you had a good result.

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes. I can't tell you how relieved I am to have this done. Of course now I am bored to tears and unable to do much but watch TV, do the occasional puzzle, and read for about 15 min at a time. I am a voracious reader, so this is killing me! (My concentration sucks right now).

I had a small hematoma on the incision, which Dr. Gearhart removed 2 staples and drained while I was in the hospital. So I have a half inch hole which needs to be packed and changed twice a day. VEEERRRRY minor compared to the fistula stuff I went thru, but it brings back bad memories. I can't wait to see her on May 12th and get the staples out and have this over with. Just looking at an incision for me is like waiting for the sword to drop. Half of my surgeries have ended up with draining problems in the incision - not a very good record. I am trying very hard to think positively (no infection, no infection please).

Thanks again for your support!

Sudsmom