UOAA Discussion Board

Hello...first post here.

I'm a 42 year old male who was diagnosed with stage 3b colorectal cancer. I'm currently almost halfway through my 6 month chemo (FOLFOX) treatment phase so my takedown surgery is coming soon. My ileostomy surgery was performed on May 16, 2017.

I'm trying to determine if there really is a correlation between how long an ileostomy is in place and the probability of complications after the takedown surgery. If there is then I was thinking about ending my chemo phase early to reduce the amount of time as much as possible. My surgeon and oncologist do not think that doing my takedown surgery after 5 months vs 8 months would increase the probability of post takedown surgery complications. I read some old posts and found contradictory info. I also found this NIH study that indicated that the probability of complications decreased if the takedown was done within 3 months of the original surgery.

Link to NIH study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4349917/

What has everyone else heard from their surgeon? Any information would be much appreciated so I can make an informed decision on when to schedule my takedown.

Thanks.

My suggestion is don't have the reversal surgery. I got my illiostomy in 2003, and like all you, I could not wait to get rid of it. It's a bad move and I'll tell you why:

In 2004, I had my reversal surgery. I was temporarily relieved because I got rid of the osteomy. Yay! I quickly found that my life was miserable. Runny bowel movements16-24 times a day is no way to live. I was living in the bathroom.

In 2005, I begged my surgeon to put my osteomy back. Which he did. And life was good! You will get over it..I promise! Taking care of an osteomy will become as easy as brushing your teeth.

The other downfall to multiple surgeries are hernias. When they cut you open over and over, it is bound to happen.
I have had 4 hernia repairs. Unfortunately, the surgeon perforated my intestines and now I have an enterocutaneous fistula. Which is a hole coming out of my stomach connected to my bowels. So I wear 2 bags now. And it is way harder to manage the fistula.

Moral of the story... forget the reversal surgery and get to living. Life is good! You are still you! Even with an osteomy. Don't let it stop you from enjoying life. If I could talk to the old me, I would have left it alone.

1goodLIFE