25
Nov
Advances in colon resectioning speed recovery time
The recovery time for a colon resectioning used to require as much as 10 days in the hospital but, thanks to improvements in technique and technology, that stay has been cut in half.
"This is a major surgery because you have to take out a piece of intestine and then put the intestine back together," Dr. Scott Otto, MD, selected as a Chicago Top Doctor by TopTierMD as a top rated general surgeon in Chicago, said. "You remove a portion of the colon for various reasons - either for benign or malignant diseases.
"It could be anything from a large polyp that may be benign but needs to be removed because it cannot be taken out through endoscopic means or the patient may have diverticulitis or recurrent GI bleeding. They procedure is also done for colon cancers of any type.
Minimally invasive colon resectionings are done with small incisions because, Dr. Otto said, a smaller wound has a lower likelihood of an infection or of developing a hernia. The smaller incisions also tend to hurt less and leave smaller scars.
"Traditionally, the open surgery method for a colon resectioning would leave the patient in the hospital for five days minimum and generally between seven to 10 days," Dr. Otto said. "I tell patients now that they can expect to stay in the hospital from anywhere from five to seven days."
The recovery time from the surgery, however, depends on what type of colon surgery is performed.
"There are some newer medications available to help speed up the gut to normal function," Dr. Otto said. "Previously, that was one of the limiting factors for how long or how soon patients would be able to go home. They'd have to wait for the intestines to start functioning again, then they could eat and go home. Now, we have medications that speed up gut function after surgery."
The most common complications arising from a colon resectioning are, generally, low grade temperatures, not taking deep breaths and pain.
"Leaks are not very common," Dr. Otto said. "The likelihood is very low in the small valve. In the right side of the colon, it's a little bit higher. On the left side and into the rectum, the rate goes up higher.
"Additionally, any time you make an incision and enter the abdominal cavity, there's going to be a risk of hernia, but that's not really a risk I worry about."
Dr. Scott Otto, MD, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered Best in General Surgery in Chicago. He specializes in advanced laproscopic minimally invasive surgery, colon resectioning and hiatal hernias.
