laparascopic???

Hi people! I have my surgery consult next Tuesday & I am so excited. I am hoping to have the surgery in the beginning of November. I do have one more Remicade infusion scheduled for Oct. 15, a double dose, & I plan to see if that "works". I don't have high hopes though. I've been miserably sick for weeks now & have had it up to HERE with UC! Time to say Bye Bye colon! I was on Shaz's Ostomy Pages (which rock, by the way!) & was looking at the pics- it seems as if most of the people had the big, gut-wide-open surgery.... However, my GI told me they do it laparascopically these days. Any feedback??? Thanks!

Eva Lou,
I know what you mean by having had enough of being sick. I felt the same way when I decided to have surgery, too. I wasn't given the option of having it done laparoscopically, so I got the big zipper job.

I figured since I was going to have a bag, my bikini days were over anyway, so who cares about a big scar?! The incision did hurt while it was healing, so if I had the choice, I would have done it laparoscopically.

Good luck with your surgery consult on Tuesday. You definitely have the right attitude going into this, and I promise, you are going to feel so much better once that disease is gone. Surgery is a cure for UC!!

Take care and keep us posted on how you're doing.

Cecilia

I had my ileostomy done lathroscopically. I can tell you that the scarring is minimal. I now have a 1/2 inch scar under the sternum, another one about 1 inch long under my bellybutton. Both are hardly noticeable. After surgery, my upper body was sore for about a day and a half, as that during surgery, you are pumped full of gas to "inflate" you. This allows the surgeon to maneuver the camera and instruments inside you. After the surgery, there is residual gas that takes about a day or two to dissipate. I was up and walking about two days after the operation, and home after a week. The first two days the nurses got me to sit up and bend my body up and down while holding a pillow against my chest. This supposedly was to help the gas dissipitate, as well as get my body moving again.

One VERY important thing. Make sure you get the location of your stoma marked out beforehand, where you want it to be. Keep in mind belt line and clothing. The ET nurse, or qualified person, should go over this with you before surgery. I myself wasn't aware of this, and none of the hospital staff went over this with me beforehand. I never had my stoma marked for a good location. Now my stoma is right next to my bellybutton, so swimming for me (wearing a bathing suit) is out of the question. The surgeon placed it too high on me as far as I'm concerned. Be sure to get your stoma mapped out beforehand.