sigmoid resection

I can understand that you are terrified, I was terrified before my first surgery too. Everyone is. The IV pump - do you mean against pain? Not everyone has that but it's a decision that is made when you talk to the anaesthesiologist and they recommend that or not, taking everything else into consideration. Having a pump means that the pain medication is going in through a tube and if you have increased pain, you can press a button and more pain medication is released. I had that, but never needed to push the botton. Otherwise, you will have an IV for all medications while you are in the hospital.
You will be on liquid food for a couple of days, drinking everything, and then soft or pureed food after that. You won't be eating "normally" so you will probably lose a bit of weight and most of the time all of it comes back when you go back to normal eating. They should tell you what your diet restrictions are, probably plain food with little or no fiber, which includes rice, cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, some chicken or fish, toast, yoghurt, not much in the vegetable department. Salt, but avoid spices for a while.
You are young so everthing heals much faster. Scars fade much more quickly that you can imagine. There is a little swelling in the beginning and then it goes away, it's different for different people.
Oh- before the surgery the nurse will shave your pubic hair, so you may want to do that yourself before you go in. Of course it grows back, albeit, it will itch a bit.
Yes, you will have a catheter, which bothered me when I thought about it before surgery but in reality you won't feel it and it also means you can drink water before going to sleep and not have to think about getting up to pee in the middle of the night. It's important that all urine flows into a bag so that the can measure your output and make sure your kidneys are functioning normally.
Take it easy now and try to learn something new about it every day. You have some time to do that and the more you know beforehand, the less anxious you will feel. You can write to this forum at any time and everyone here will give you lots of advice and support!

Are you receiving a colostomy? I am trying to exist without my sigmoid (have only 10% left, at best). The sigmoid is where stool collects and backs up, through out your day and then ideally it's released once or twice a day (normal range). I however have multiple bm's now, for life.

This is major surgery and you will experience severe pain after surgery. But the best way to get back on your feet and feel better, in the long run, will be walk and get moving when the nurses tell you it's time. You will not want to move, nor sit up in a chair and definitely not walk down the hall. But if you do all of these things, you wake up the GI tract much faster and you recover more quickly. Pack a good robe and gym shoes (velcro ones might be a good idea). Or slip on shoes with good traction. Forget flimsy slippers, you need good shoes if you want to do a lot of walking in the hospital. I know I looked a sight but I didn't care, I wanted to feel better (didn't realize how important walking was until after my temporary colostomy was reversed).

But please ask your surgeon how losing your sigmoid is going to greatly impact your day to day living. This is a very, very important question to ask.

All my surgeon said was - this will turn your life upside down. And I thought he meant post-op pain (which was extremely severe). Now I know what he was referring to. I have never, ever gone back to one or two bm's per day - in 13 years. I never will. I should have been given a permanent colostomy.

Well if I were in your shoes, I would look up the specific function of the sigmoid. Which is referred to as the GI tract's reservoir, hence why it acts like a dam, holding back stool through out your day so you can go just once or twice (normal range). Without a sigmoid, the above colon cannot swell like the walls of the sigmoid is able to. My stool now is narrow and in multiple amounts - at times, like rabbit stool. If you own a dog you'll know what I'm referring to - my Lab goes after rabbit droppings in our yard, they're a delicacy to canines I guess. Well, my stool looks like rabbit poop. Which would be okay, but I go so many times now, I'm worn out - about 20 times per day.

I would also obtain a second opinion.

I was in pain for 4 straight weeks. It was there, day in, day out. Lessened a bit but always there, I had young children to care for back then (my daughters were in 3rd and 6th grades) so I could only take Tylenol for pain once I didn't need my husband home during the day. Initially, 7 days post-op (I was in the hospital for 7 days), it was a rough time frame. I returned to eating much too soon and had to go back on a liquid diet. I recall saying a prayer at bedtime for the pain to be gone in the morning, but as soon as I stood up out of bed, there it was, like an unwanted houseguest. Who wouldn't leave!

But eventually it did subside. It just took a while.

What would have sped up my healing would have been to walk (as I pointed out above in one of my replies). My nurses wanted me walking several times daily but I resisted, glaring at them. My husband would hound me at home - walk, walk, walk. I eventually learned the hard way, if you resist all of these healing measures, you will recover much more slowly and painfully.

So, sit up when told to, spend as much time in a chair not your hospital bed, walk, walk and walk some more. Slowly of course, but one foot in front of the other.

Keep it up at home. And maybe you'll recover faster than I did. I had a vertical incision navel to pelvic area. It took a long time - a few years - to fade and not be so raised and pronounced. Of course I was twice your age and more, 43.

Youth is on your side, being a mom I've noticed my daughters are never sick for long and my youngest had several broken bones in childhood, she healed twice as fast as I ever did with ankle sprains or once, broken ankle.

I never did answer your other ?'s, yes you'll have a cathedar, until you can get to the bathroom on your own, you'll be wearing boots that inflate and deflate on your calves, these prevent blood clots right after surgery, once you begin walking, they are removed and stay off. Post-op diet, I was told to eat 4-6 small meals per day, not 3 large meals. Although not told this, I ended up on a low residue diet (plain food, basically the BRAT diet), to reduce D. At that point and to this day, all I want is formed stool. I don't mind going as much as I do, I just want to use any bathroom, take care of things and move on with my day. I control my output but skipping meals sometimes (traveling, vacations, social events). But it took a while to figure all of this out. Perhaps you won't struggle as much as I have.

May I ask why you are having your sigmoid removed? I hope that doesn't upset you by my asking you this question.

The reason I am having my sigmoid removed is because of rectal prolapse. Most of my bowel is out at the age of 20. Usually only happens in 50-60 year olds. They have done other surgeries to pin it back in place but a few months later it was right back out again and now my bowel is leaking important fluids and mucus that is suppose to stay inside the body. I thought long and hard about having this done. I could just keep getting it repinned but eventually it will have to come to this and I am just starting my career. He also said that it will help with my constipation I have not had a regular bowel movement without the help of laxatives or extreme amounts of fiber for a couple years now. But I hope I do not end up having an uncontrolled amount of bowel movements. I am aware of the risks he said at my age they are only 2% chance of ending up with the bowel not attaching and ending up with it on the outside. He going to try and save as much as he can but he wont know until he gets in there how much is dropped. He can only do it opening me up which stresses me out. Thanks for replying it has helped a lot. If you don't mind me asking why did you have your sigmoid removed?

jnt

i was having incomplete rectal emptying issues.   i went daily but in divided moves took 2 to4 hours to finish every morning.  had a defecogram (did not know it had been interpreted only by a resident) head colorectal surgeon at a big hospital showed me on his computer and said that is your sigmoid colon coming down in between your rectum and your vagaina severely narrowing your rectum.  when you stand up the sigmoid goes back into your pelvis that is why you can do another bowel move and the cycle continues.  he and 2 other surgeons recommmended sigmoid resection as cure.  did not enter into this ligthly.  i had had a prior hysterectomy that is why the recto vaginal space opened.  what i did not know whas it was NOT my sigmoid coming down but only a loop of small bowel.  alll that needed to be done was small bowel pushed back up into my pelvis and the space closed.  the docs who opened me saw the sigmoid was not reduntant, took it out anyway, did not send it to the lab then "fixed" other things many unconsented and that were not prolapsing.  absolutely nothying was even close to hanging out of me.  so my fate need not have even taKEN place.  BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

your issue seems more cut and dried.  for obvious rectal prolapse that is what is done is sigmoid removal.  do ask if they are going to take any of the top of the rectum (this would make it a low anterior resection rather than just a sigmoidectomy.  the low anterior resection is when people are more apt to form strictures.) if just the sigmoid was removed you would likely do ok and you would not have any issues.

key to successful sigmoid resection is good blood supply to ends of the colon being joined, lack of tension on the join.  If I were you I wuold see if you could get this done lapro by an expert colorectal surgeon and get the insuflow heated humidified cos insufflation gas.  lapro and this co2 gas helps prevent adhesions.  also get someone super experienced at this.  if you are having a midline incision (vertical) that predisposes people to the most adhesions as compared to the bikini incision.  This surgery should be able to be done at least by bikini incision by the right surgeon.  as marsky says, i would get some other opinions regarding technique as you are sooooo young.  good luck.  Rosemary