bowel obstruction from ovarian cyst

[tanisi]

My mom is about to have surgery for a bowel obstruction caused by a small ovarian cyst.  She is very worried and wants to know what post-op is really like.  Any experiences out there?  They are waiting 4 days to due the surgery and she is uncomfortable and on a liquid diet and this is after 3 weeks of being very ill and barely able to eat so she is at her end.

[ggreg]

There was a similar thread to yours in MedHelp not too long ago about a lady who had that procedure.  From my own family's experience, anytime a person has abdominal surgery, stitches and the invasion itself can be uncomfortable but they give medicine for it (and it's okay to ask the doc for more, if she gets tearful for example), sometimes they'll put in a temporary drain, and the liquid and soft diet type regimen will continue for a while.  She is going to need a whole lot of rest, a couple weeks after she leaves the hospital at least, and will also need to have close office followups and a scan to make sure she is obstruction-free, and good medicines and eating instructions to take home with her.  If she has ANY problems when she gets home that don't seem right, get her right back in the hospital forthwith and call her doc to come down there and keep track of the situation.