My brother-in-law had the first stage of his j-pouch surgery on 5/12. They are actually doing his in 3 stages because he is in acute flare up for so long. He came home on 5/16 and ended up back in the hospital evening of 5/18 with severe left abdomen pain. They had him on Dilaudid pain pump. CT and blood work shows nothing so they are just doping him up w/ pain meds and plan to send him home Thurs or Friday. He was also very dehydrated, they gave him 5 bags of fluids on Monday. Did anyone else experience anything like this? I saw on one of these forums something about small bowel spasms?? Is that possibility so soon after first surgery?

Now doctors saying some narrowing in small intestine showing up on CT which could indicate Crohn's Colitis??? What does that mean? Was this the right surgery.

Well, it would indicate Crohn's, if it weren't for the fact that he just had a colectomy. The abdominal surgery can create a lot of adhesions (scarring) that can cause narrowing, obstruction, and severe pain. I think the docs were speaking too soon on this one. Obviously, even if it is Crohn's colitis, the colon needed to come out, and that was done. Correct surgery. The j-pouch will not happen until the second stage.

They can reexamine the slides from his colectomy to see if there was any indication of Crohn's there, but this sounds to me like typical small bowel obstruction following abdominal surgery. It is also typical for it not to show up on x-ray or CT until it is a complete obstruction.

Jan

Adhesions can happen that fast after surgery? They put an NJ tube in when he came back in on the 18th, but it wasn't draining anything. His pouch output is very loose. His urine is very dark almost cranberry even with IVF. I hope they aren't missing something. I would hate for him to be discharged today or tomorrow and end up back in over the weekend. He has been in and out so many times over the past 2 months it is getting really hard on his family - wife and 3 kids.

Adhesions begin to form within the first few days post op. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/adhesions_general_and_af...rgery/article_em.htm

If he is getting adequate fluids, his urine should not be dark (unless he is on some medication that can color the urine). Ileostomy output is generally very loose in the early months, so that is not a concern, other than staying hydrated. He should not be discharged until he can take in enough oral fluids to stay hydrated. Of course, it is possible to go home on IV therapy too, if necessary.

Jan