Colostomy reversal

[kcmomof3]

I have a 13 year old son who had a colostomy reversal 3 years ago. Luckily he only had to have the colostomy bag for 6 months. (which seemed like an eternity) After the reversal, we had to watch his diet, make sure he got lots of fiber, etc. Ever since the reversal, he has had lots of stomach problems, including pain near the incision site, constipation, stomach aches, excessive gas, and belching. I have asked the doc about this many times, and they say there is nothing wrong. He has even been to the ER a few times with terrible stomach pain. They have done CT scans, x-rays, etc. and just tell me that he is constipated, which seemed strange to me because he has very regular (almost like clockwork) bowel movements.  I try to make sure that he gets lots of water, and push the fruits veggies as much as possible.  If anyone has any suggestions, or has experienced these things, any advice would be much appreciated!

[Jaybay]

It's possible that the anastomosis site has narrowed due to scarring (adhesions).  Scar tissue doesn't show up on tests, so it can be very difficult to there really is a problem and that it isn't just a functional one.  If the anastomosis is completely closed up and the bowel is obstructed, that can easily be seen and is an obvious medical emergency.  If it is only narrowed enough to cause symptoms, it generally won't show up.  

One way to check the anastomosis is through colonoscopy.  You might ask your son's gastro doc about that.  In some lucky people, the process of moving the scope through the area of intestine can break up the scar tissue, open up the intestine, and there are no further problems.  Obviously you aren't going to get this problem treated effectively through the ER.  All they can do is get him stabilized and discharge him and tell him to follow up with his own physician.  I agree with you that constipation alone is not the problem; constipation is a symptom.  Start with a gastro doc or even consult with the surgeon who did the original colostomy and reversal.  Bring along copies of lab work, test reports and even the CT and xray films.  You can request these from the hospital in person.

[mari563]

My husband had a reversal of his colostomy bag removed on july 21,2008 and its has been 4 months and he still has problems at the incisionI site. Were have been to the ER many times and he is either admitted at the hospital or discharge and sent home on medication for infection. They had to reopen a area to drain some pus and now he has another area with the same problem. Doctors that we have seen just dont give us answer that we are happy with.Since his surgery he has been given  meds on and off for infection. My concern is this all due to him getting a staff infection at the hospital that has created this problems, or is it the colitis he now has. This all started from a rupture of Diverticulitis/ Diverticulosis, any help would really be appreciated!

[Ciro179]

Hi,
Wow someone having the same trouble as me and getting no real answers.i had a colostomy reversal done almost two years ago  the incision site wont heal and gets infected it closes and the fills up with pus its very small hole about the size of a pencil tip and i had ct to be sure nothing was leaking and that came back good no leaks only other thing they came up with was it could be the type of stitches they used the said there2types ones that can absorb and ones that don't and of course made no sense to me.the ones that absorb could still be holding bacteria which is causing the pus and only time will help..cant lie i feel blessed to have this small but VERY anoring problem versus having to wear that bag again...good luck
  



,

[gabbi58]

I HAD TO HAVE EMERGENCY SURGERY THE THE 14TH  OF JANUARY FOR BOWEL BLOCKAGE AND NOW HAVE A COLOSTOMY.I GO BACK IN TO THE HOSPITAL NEXT WEEK FOR REVERSAL AND TUMOR REMOVAL.HAS ANY ONE HAD ANYTHING SIMILAR??

[bella452]

Hi Gabbi,

I had to have emergency surgery in Nov. 2008 for an ilestomy because I found out that I had bowel cancer. It was the worste thing that I have ever experienced in my life. Since the surgery, I have had chemo, and radiation treatments and then an 8 hour surgery where they removed the tumor and parts of my intestional tract. They also changed the ilestomy to a colostomy due to the complications that I was having with the ilestomy. I was constantly getting blockages and ispent most of my time back in the hospital. Now, I am currently waiting to get my colostomy reversed. II can't wait for that day. I mean, I didn't even now that this even exisited until one day i was going into surgery...needless to say its beeen a very long and difficult year for both myself and my family. I know what you are going through and the only thing that has kept me sane is knowing that one day this will be reversed. In the mean time I am under going 4 months of chemo treatments and then, the doctors will decide when my reversal is possible. Like yourself, I am concerned of having another big surgery and going thrugh the recovery. The first ielostomy that I had took me like 8 weeks to recover and I was very sick, the the colostomy took me 10 weeks. Now, I get to be opend up yet again aybe two times because my dr says that the may just put the bowel back together and still haev a temporary colostomy until the bowel heels and then he will do another surgery to reverse the colstomy. talk about procedures. I jsut want to say if I can ge throught he past year...then anyone. I am 31 years old and was a marathon runner who woke up one day sick and long story short bowel cnacer which has changed my life drastacially, but in the end I stay positive and know that one day I will haev my normal life back again and so will you!!! I hop ethat this little story of mine may help you somewhat for what yuo are going through. Just know that you are not alone and everything will be fine!! Good Luck with the surgery and I will be praying for you! Take care,

LD

[Icewolf]

hi
ive been having trouble with my bowels and im going in for a blood test tommorow but i was wondering what it was like for your son to wear a bag im 14 so i would have to wear it at school. did the bag stop him from doing sports or anything?