Picked my surgeon! Thought on open vs laparoscopic?

     Hi!  It's normal to be scared, I know I sure was .  However, we all weighed the pros and cons of surgery and I believe we all came to the conclusion that surgery would give us a better quality of life.  It isn't a walk in the park, but so worth it in the long run.

     I had a total colectomy with end ileostomy.  My surgeon would not even consider doing it laproscopically.  He also left my anus open.  My rectum and colon have been removed.  I had a few post surgery blips but nothing major.  My main problem is staying hydrated.  I just forget to drink!!!

     I am also much older than most of you in here.  I was 52 when diagnosed with UP (proctitis) and 63 at the time of my operation.  I turned 66 in August.  My only regret was not having surgery sooner.  Hindsight is 20/20 and I suppose we all hope that they would find a miracle cure while we still suffer, but, that was not to be.

     Best of luck and health to you! 

Congrats on making your decision -- that was a lot of surgeons to meet with.

I had lapro, and the scarring is so minimal -- four little scars the size of tic tacs. You do need someone who is good at it though.... and you're under longer.

I don't feel qualified to comment on the benefits of one versus the other, as I'm only one person.... my sense from my surgeon is that the longer term data comparing the surgeries is just starting to come in.

I personally think that the most important part is that you find a good/experienced surgeon that you like. Then worry about lapro/open.

I personally have only had lapro with a three inch incision near the bikini area. I know I could definitely feel the incision more than the lapro holes. But I also developed a hernia from a lapro hole.

     My surgeon did the open so meticulously that you cannot see where he opened me up...from belly button down to private area.  This was my very first surgery, so that could be the reason.  My children were born vaginally.

Hi, I had a panproctocolectomy in may, my surgeon could remove the colon laproscopically, but then they had to open me a bit to remove the rectum and anus, so I have a very beautiful scar from my belly button to my bikini line . Shame I can't show it off as it's partly covered my bag.

I was reading the new responses to this thread and realized what I said wasn't what I meant to say!

I think the most important thing is to find a surgeon that you like and that is experienced - and you've done that already!

Then go with whatever surgery method they recommend, whether that's because of their experience or because of your particular situation.

I think I heard somebody else on this board also mentioned that the DaVinci generally resulted in longer anesthesia time.

Honestly after the learning curve and finding the right wafer and pouch(bag) that works best for you, I think you will be surprised overall at the adjustment to your new normal.

Just be patient in the beginning. You will be given a certain set up that the hospital uses. If it works well for you...great and if not you try a different one.

Be sure to wear your favorite jeans/slacks or whatever so your stoma nurse marks you accordingly for the best placement for your stoma. It will be marked for the surgeon to place it there.

In the beginning the stoma will be larger as it will be a bit swollen but will go down in size. It will be necessary to measure and cut the hole in the wafer to conform to your size. This needs to be done for a few months(?) until you have your actual size when it has healed.

Go through the various topics here with a notebook to take notes here and there of some of the hints and tips you find as you will not keep it all in your head.

I found before Hubby's surgery when I called the distributor we were going to use it was helpful to get the account set up. Once he got out of the hospital and the in home visiting nurse appts were done we were ready to fax in our first order. We continued with what he came out of the hospital with which worked for a few months and then had to switch and that one worked for a few months....his problem was his skin was sensitive to the outer adhesive on the wafer. He switched to a 3rd one and it is "THE" one for him.

I assume at Mass General you will have the opportunity to see a WOCN if the need should arise if you have any questions after discharge and make appts.

At Mayo clinic part of the discharge was the Doctor's Order indicating the type of surgery performed and generic supplies that are required to maintain this change. That was needed to fax to the distribution supply company with the first order. The WOCN nurse at the hospital was very helpful. I happened to have the catalog with me at the hospital and she sat with me and we marked off what I should be ordering. Otherwise I might have been confused as it was a whole new world to me.

Also in the hospital do you have anyone who is going to be there a lot of the time you are there? I ask as I was with my husband (we are retired so that made it easy to be there)from about 9am - 11 pm. I had a notebook handy and jotted notes each day, time and anything I felt was important to mark down in case it was needed for any reference. Some days so many different people came in for different things that it would have been hard to remember and keep it straight.

If you can... put labels on all your personal stuff with your name and cell # so if something gets misplaced it can be returned to you.

A backscratcher from the dollar store saved the day....lol. Hubby found that to be a lifesaver.

When I schedule my surgery I was so excited. Then a week later I was so freaked out. Then the week after that I was so excited again! Be ready to run the gambit of emotions. It's normal to be worried about any surgery. But remember, you are doing this on your own terms and it's not an emergency - so you are already a step ahead of the game!

My bag still grosses me out sometimes when I'm cleaning the tail. Then I told myself that if we had been raised with a bag it wouldn't bother us. I mean, when we wipe after a bowel movement we are blindly reaching in a slightly awkward area hoping to adequately "clean" everything. At least with the bag we can visually say "I think I got it."

I second the scratcher. I had the morphine itchies. If you are itchy, you can also tell the nurse - I ended up getting Benadryl every couple of hours and it helped alot.

My husband just had the same surgery, open, and for the same reason. His surgery was Tuesday, so its all new. He had an epidural but it was after the surgery because he was hurting. I would have loved it to be put in before but the surgeon said no because of blood pressure issues. He was still able to walk with the epidural so that was good.

Im glad you made your decision, just think whenever you get worried or overwhelmed- this is all to make you FEEL BETTER!!! His GI told us that after this there is only a 10% chance of the crohns coming back without meds, and he thinks he can get down to 5% with meds! That is great!

Ask if your hospital has child life, they can help your daughter understand and cope by using the right wording. And Im sure they have ET nurses to help you with your bag. Ours are wonderful and they will send home nurses too.

As far as lap vs. open my personal opinion is that you should let your surgeon decide. This way if there are any of those complications you wont blame yourself and think "I made the wrong decision". Ask which he is more comfortable with and let him pick. They both have risks/benefits.

Lapro with very experienced lapro surgwon with warmed humidified insufflation CO2 gas to further cut down your chance of small bowel adhesions which you don't want! Lexion medical makes such a gas called insuflow. Contact them tjem keep looking for lapro skilled board certified colorectal surgeons. Keep you nov appt nbut keep looking in the meantime.

Rosemary