4 Weeks Post Surgery - Adam's Colon

We had our follow-up with Dr. P yesterday. Things are going well. We scheduled surgery #2 for March 25. We als got to see the picture of Adam's colon. We learned that his appendix comes out with the colon. He also took out about 6 cm of his small intestines that were inflamed, most likely from a sort of "back wash" from his colon. Dr. P said that of all the "elective" surgeries he's done..this was one of the worst he's seen. Adam's colon was nearly half the size in length as it should have been..it was very swollen and shrunken. The picture looks disgusting, but is fascinating at the same time.

We also learned that the staples just stay in his J-pouch...forever I guess. He has had some "pain" in his rectum, but the Dr. said that should gradually go away. We have also had some issues finding the right wafer to use for Adam's stoma. We finally got the leaking problems fixed. He is using a Durahesive, Convex moldable wafer. Basically we are able to "mold" the hole of the wafer around his stoma, and the durahesive material puffs up when it gets wet from his stool and provides a more secure barrier around the soma. The durahesive material is better for more watery stool...so it works better than the stomahesive. All of this we have learned through searching the internet and browsing chat rooms and blogs. What a life saver the internet has been!

Dr. gave him the ok to drink water, but still wants him to get plenty of gatorade to keep his electrolytes up. He is also able to get his B12 shots and testosterone shots as needed. We will go in the 5 of March for a Barium test. They will put barium into his J-pouch and then do x-rays to test for any leaks or problems with the j-pouch before he has the take-down surgery.

Adam is slowing gaining his energy and strength back. The visit to the UofU completely wore him out yesterday, but he insisted on not riding in a wheel-chair.


And here it is! Yuck!