4 days after surgery: Husband having complications.

Matthew is having some complications from his surgery and has been moved to ICU. Last night, he started having pain and vomiting. He had been doing really well prior to this- walking around, eating, drinking, catheter and epidural out.

His blood work came back and gave the doctors concerns for infection. The doctors have placed an NG tube into his nose to get rid of abdominal distention and a catheter went back in. Matthew is in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable. They will be doing X-rays on his chest an abdomen looking for possible hernia or twist and a CT Scan today looking for abscess or leak in small intestine. The doctors said he had an ileus in his small intestine. This is a compounding problem to the possible infection.

This is an extremely disappointing and concerning setback, as he was doing an excellent job of recovering the last few days and they were planning on sending him home today. Please pray that they don't have to open him up again in surgery and that this passes quickly so he can get back onto the road for recovery.

- Kirsten

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Husband was dx with UC/Crohn's Colitis in 2000 at 14 years old. We met in 2002, married since 2007. Proud owners of 2 miniature dachshunds.

Meds tried: Methotrexate, 6MP, Humira, Tacrolimus, Remicade, Imuran, Cyclosporin, Flagyl, Asacol, Sulfasalazine, Pentasa, Rawasa, Pravastatin trial and Prednisone. No remission since 2008.

Total abdominal colectomy with semi-permanent ileostomy on 7/1/2011

Kristen....I am so sorry that you and Matthew are going through this.

The crappy reality is that it is not unusual for this surgery to have complications. My son had an ileus that started on day 4 and was awful. However, it does pass. It is great that your docs are on top of the possible infection and the best place for your husband to be is in ICU. They have put him there so that he his temp can be watched very closely....we all know that the nurses on the regular floors have many patients and can only come by so often. It really sounds like he is being looked after well and the cure is time for both the ileus to go away and the antibiotics to work.

I know how hard it is especially when you thought you were almost ready to go home. We were told that these complications were not a step backwards just sideways and that it just meant a longer hospital stay.

I just want you to know that you are not alone in this. We went through hell for quite a while and my son, Dillon, is now doing better than I ever thought possible.

Thinking of you,
Cathy

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Mom to Dillon (age 20) who had three major UC flares over two years....Very sick. Colectomy Sept/09, J pouch built Jan/10 and take down Feb/10. Now out living life at University and doing great. NO MEDS

I will be praying for you and Matthew that this will pass quickly and only be a
Minor bump in the road to recovery!!!

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Dee stay at home mom of my 2 beautiful children
dx with uc July '10
June 02 '11 the creation of Stella the stoma LOL! ;-)

Prov3:5,6

Kirsten,
You are both in my thoughts and prayers. I had ileus after my ilestomy surgery, too, and ended up in ICU after becoming severely dehydrated from vomiting so much. For me, the nursing care on the regular floor was not good, considering how sick I was. They turned off my IV fluids too soon and did not give me an NG tube soon enough to stop the vomiting. The care in the ICU was excellent, so I was relieved to be there.

Matthew is in good hands. I hope he doesn't have to have another surgery either, but if he does, it will be for the best. Just try to take it one day at a time. He will be okay.

(((Hugs)))
Cecilia

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Dx'd Crohn's in '99 at age 28. Proctocolectomy and permanent ileostomy in '06.
Disease-free and medicine-free since surgery and very thankful to be healthy again.

The CT scan showed an obstruction of some kind in his small intestine. His original surgeon came in and talked to him and said he wants to open the incision back up and look around and see what has caused this. He said he can fix any problem that he finds but of course this is not an ideal situation. The CT scan did not show any twists in the small intestine. We are all very worried but have confidence in the surgeons and their ability.

- Kirsten

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Husband was dx with UC/Crohn's Colitis in 2000 at 14 years old. We met in 2002, married since 2007. Proud owners of 2 miniature dachshunds.

Meds tried: Methotrexate, 6MP, Humira, Tacrolimus, Remicade, Imuran, Cyclosporin, Flagyl, Asacol, Sulfasalazine, Pentasa, Rawasa, Pravastatin trial and Prednisone. No remission since 2008.

Total abdominal colectomy with semi-permanent ileostomy on 7/1/2011

so sorry to hear of the complications when things seemed to be going so well.. it sounds like you're in excellent hands though and getting the best care. Have everything crossed that they can find the cause of the obstruction and get him on the road to recovery. Hang in there. Thoughts are with you. Sarah xxx

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Sarah - 38 year old mum of 2 boys, runner/triathlete, health and fitness writer from UK
June 2010 - Peritonitis caused by perforated diverticulitis. Emergency surgery.
August 2010 - Sigmoid colectomy and temp ileostomy
October 2010 - Ileostomy reversal - but didn't go well and struggling since.
Currently - DX colonic dysmotility due to surgery/nerve damage
Perm Ileo surgery planned 11th July

I know that this is not the result that you wanted by like Cecilia said take it one day at a time, trust in your doctors, and let look down the road.....you will get there.

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Mom to Dillon (age 20) who had three major UC flares over two years....Very sick. Colectomy Sept/09, J pouch built Jan/10 and take down Feb/10. Now out living life at University and doing great. NO MEDS

Sorry to hear this news, how disappointing -- thinking of you. As the others said, it sounds like he is getting the care he needs. Hang in.

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48 years old, female.
2004 dx indeterminate colitis. Back and forth between Crohn's and UC dx. Many drugs, minimal success.
2010-11 Crazy skin and eye complications, high fevers, bad flaring. Out of good drug options, tired of scary drugs.
Feb 2011 -- proctocolectomy with permanent ileolostomy; abscess, blood clot. Still healing, still glad for the surgery

hope everythig works out fine! i had an ileus after my colectomy that lasted 8 days, but passed. hope it's as simple as that and he doesn't have to go through any further surgery.

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Hodaya
06/05/2007 - STARR procedure
colonic inertia w/pelvic floor dysfunction
08/16/2009 - total colectomy w/ileorectal anastomosis
07/08/2010 - loop ileostomy

Kirsten - praying for you and Matthew. Sorry there is more surgery needed to correct this situation. Thankfully he is in ICU getting the constant care and supervision he needs in this case to oversee this. More prayers for you both from me.

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Wife of 64 yr old male suffered with UC & in May 06 had a severe flare & hospitalized 6 days...various prednisone treatments leading to steroid dependence and osteopenia, 12 asacol, 200 mg Imuran, failed remicade infusions Jan-May 2010 Dependence on pain meds. Made decision 6/10 to have surgery which was on 12/17/10 (total proctocolectomy & ileostomy - unable to have the j-pouch) & now pain free

Matthew is out of surgery! The surgeon said that inside, where they had stapled off the remainder of the rectum (he kept his rectum) was "leaking" at one corner and causing an infection. They said it was very weak because of how sick his colon was. They ended up cutting off a little more and stapling it, then double stitching it over to make sure it doesn't happen again. They are pumping him full of antibiotics and they have to leave the skin layer of the incision open and pack the wound the make sure that doesn't get infected, either. Praise God they found the problem and fixed it before he got even more sick!

The surgeon said, worst case scenario, if it happened again, they would have to make a temporary stoma from the rectum (didn't know they could do that....) and then fix it later once he's recovered a bit. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

By the way, they said his small intestine looked fine and had no issues!

- Kirsten

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Husband was dx with UC/Crohn's Colitis in 2000 at 14 years old. We met in 2002, married since 2007. Proud owners of 2 miniature dachshunds.

Meds tried: Methotrexate, 6MP, Humira, Tacrolimus, Remicade, Imuran, Cyclosporin, Flagyl, Asacol, Sulfasalazine, Pentasa, Rawasa, Pravastatin trial and Prednisone. No remission since 2008.

Total abdominal colectomy with semi-permanent ileostomy on 7/1/2011

Glad he's out of surgery and that they found and hopefully fixed the problem. I hope you both get some rest tonight. Keep us posted.

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48 years old, female.
2004 dx indeterminate colitis. Back and forth between Crohn's and UC dx. Many drugs, minimal success.
2010-11 Crazy skin and eye complications, high fevers, bad flaring. Out of good drug options, tired of scary drugs.
Feb 2011 -- proctocolectomy with permanent ileolostomy; abscess, blood clot. Still healing, still glad for the surgery

WOW KIrsten, glad they fixed this. WHEW! Best wishes. Rosemary

Glad to hear they found the problem and fixed it. Praying for a smooth recovery.

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Dx'd Crohn's in '99 at age 28. Proctocolectomy and permanent ileostomy in '06.
Disease-free and medicine-free since surgery and very thankful to be healthy again.

I am so glad they found the problem and it is fixed. Hopefully the ileus passes quickly and you can both start moving forward again on the road to health!

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Mom to Dillon (age 20) who had three major UC flares over two years....Very sick. Colectomy Sept/09, J pouch built Jan/10 and take down Feb/10. Now out living life at University and doing great. NO MEDS

so glad they found the problem and fixed it. hopefully things will start going upwards from now on! best wishes to great health and smooth recovery!

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Hodaya
06/05/2007 - STARR procedure
colonic inertia w/pelvic floor dysfunction
08/16/2009 - total colectomy w/ileorectal anastomosis
07/08/2010 - loop ileostomy

Good Morning Kirsten!

I hope the night went well! I am so glad this problem was so fixable. I also hope the day goes SO good and sees Matthew improving hourly! Sounds like you have good doctors.

I also have my rectum. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when I had my colectomy, so they left it because recovery was much easier and I needed to start chemo. Since my surgeries on March 25th, I have had no trouble with the rectum. It does sometimes drain just a clearish drainage and I just wear a pad.
As I said in my earlier post, having an ileosotomy was the greatest thing to happen for me. I feel so much better and have such wonderful freedom now to enjoy life, and beat cancer!

Thinking of both of you,
Mollie

Happy to read this post and update. Now on to the healing!!!

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Wife of 64 yr old male suffered with UC & in May 06 had a severe flare & hospitalized 6 days...various prednisone treatments leading to steroid dependence and osteopenia, 12 asacol, 200 mg Imuran, failed remicade infusions Jan-May 2010 Dependence on pain meds. Made decision 6/10 to have surgery which was on 12/17/10 (total proctocolectomy & ileostomy - unable to have the j-pouch) & now pain free

I'm sorry I'm alittle behind on my posts.  I'm THRILLED that it was found soon enough!!!!!!!  That is ironic, that's exactly what happened to me!  By the time I went in ICU, the leakage caused more than an infection, it caused a large blood clot in my portal vein.  When I went into surgery, over a gallon of leakage had to be cleaned out and a stoma was made, was too much trama (surgeon did origionally staple & suture the ileo to rectum but I had a sick colon to begin with).  I was so ill, I was incompacitated for days.  Then I got phenumia, then my incision opened due to the blood thinners.  Gosh, I didn't think I was going to survive.  I'm so glad to hear that the doctors were on top of everything for you and hopefully you are recovering extremly well!!!!!  Thank God because I would never want anyone to experience what I went through.  Prayers and thoughts-Christine