Cecal Volvulus large intestine Emergency Surgery.

So sorry for your illness, hopefully you are now recovering. My dad had this problem, ended up with a colostomy, not sure if this has happened to you. He found it difficult at first but he was retired which made life easier.

Yes I had sudden surgery similar this for a a blockage in my small bowel I had to have repeat repair operation in 2014. And it looks like to have another operation this year . I sympathise with you discomfort and the bordem you are experiencing why you try and recover. It is important that you respect medical advice and try to avoid lifting things and strenuous heavy excercise. Resuming my normal daily life including lifting things like suitcases and chairs etc is what has cause damage to my surgery and ment repeat repair operations so be careful.

Oy. Vey. I could maybe be more helpful if you said what symptoms and complaints you have. You don't say which two feet of colon they resected. It makes a big difference. If it was mid-gut there's not a whole lot I can tell you other than to experiment with dietary changes and encourage you to heal and let your gut settle. Eat probiotics as best you can.

My own experience was with the excision of 26 cm of distal sigmoid at the same time as an ultra low anterior resection of the rectum for CA. I also had radiation even though I was Stage IIa. Differentiating the radiation from the excision can be challenging.

There are tracts of lymphoid tissue in the distal sigmoid that play a very large part in signalling that you need to move your bowels. Of course with a chunk of gut gone, you have less of a reservoir, and transit time is reduced.

Increased frequency of bowel movements can be an intrinsic problem in and of itself. Shortening the gut may mean that digestive enzymes are still active, which certainly does not help. My own solution was and is to titrate dietary fiber (for me, steel cut oatmeal), lubrication (heavy cream with the oatmeal) and delaying medication. Now, 7 years post surgery, I take 60mg of loperamide suspension HCl by mouth as soon as I get up every morning but for the first year or so I took as much as 180 mg daily in divided doses.

BRAT diet with gradual reinrroduction of real food was also useful.

Physicians who don't specialize in colonic function don't seem well-equipped beyond noting that the sphincters are intact so you should be fine. The subtext...that the physician will peg you as a drug seeker, is not helpful either. A WOC Nurse or NP should be included in your resources

Yes, I had the surgery on January 28 of this year. Same scenario, wound up in ER with severe abdominal pain. Surgical team was brought in to explain the possibility of 3 outcomes. Thank God I was a healthy 59 yr old and didn't ignore the symptoms. I feel extremely lucky that I had a great surgeon. I had a large portion of my colon removed as well as my appendix.

2006: Went to Emergency X 3 for acute abdominal pain, vomiting and no bowel sounds. Upon the forth episode I was at work. I worked in a doctor office and they sent me to have a CT scan with contrast. Radiologist diagnosed as cecum bascule. Referred me to gastro Doctor who had no idea what was wrong, wanted to remove my gall bladder. Then referred to a surgeon who did not know what cecum bascule was. I had a follow up appt with surgeon on the next Monday. Surgeon went to Cleveland Clinic with his Fellows for training. The topic was cecum bascule. He called me on Monday to say he knew what it was and scheduled surgery. 2 feet of my large colon were removed. I did not have a peratoneum surrounding my large bowel. Therefore the bowel laid in the floor of my pelvic. Additionally, a large band had grown around part of my large bowel and had to be removed as well.  It took 6 weeks to recover and I returned to work. No further incidents. Regular colonoscopy needs to be done for patient with this disorder. I was born with it but acute symptoms did not occur until age 53. It is important to note this is a rare disorder often not found until autopsy. Creates high risk for colon cancer and therefore yearly colonoscopy is required. Any continuation of symptoms should be reviewed by a doctor familiar with this disorder. I wish they had done immediate surgery for this but it took months for them to figure out the issue. Writhing in pain in an ER is unpleasant especially when they tell you nothing is wrong. Post surgery 12 years. I have not had any colon polyps since the surgery and prior to this event had 1-4 polyps removed yearly upon colonoscopy. Not sure this will help you. But I do understand the frustration of finding a diagnosis. Luckily your ER department recognized the issue as it can be life threatening with bowel perforation and strangulation of large bowel. At the time the cecum was also removed. Prior surgery for appendectomy done, 1977. 

Hi,

Just wanted to commiserate. I too had a cecum volvulus. I too did not get a correct diagnosis until my fourth visit where the volvulus had completely obstructed my large colon. I have a rare birth defect that forced my surgeon to do open rather than laproscopic surgery. I guess I should have died during childhood. Surgeon calls me a miracle.

I have now encountered severe left side lower quadrant abdominal pain. I have been diagnosed with Epiploic Appendagitis. It is supposed to be self-limiting but the pain has existed at various levels of intensity for 6 years. Six weeks ago it hit a 10 on the pain scale causing me to pass out on the bathroom floor.

I have had 8 CT scans making doctors reluctant to have me go through another due to severe radiation exposure.

I struggle with fulminant diahrrea and fecal incontinence. I live the life of a shut in. The only medication that helps me they will no longer prescribe.

All of this has deprived me of the job that I loved and the freedom of movement I used to enjoy. I can tell my PCP hates seeing me because there is nothing he can do to help me and my bizare anatomy makes any diagnosis hard.

Sorry for the missive, your post was the first I have seen that so closely resembles mine. I saw one of the best gastroenterologists in the US at Dartmouth Hitchcock. It was enlightening but made me realize why so many doctors want to call any bowel problem that can't be readily diagnosed IBS. There is so much they don't understand.

Yes, Summer 2012, a "massive" cecal volvulus, I was left to suffer 48 hours in pain, my children witnessed my suffering on a road trip home from Disneyland, my ex-husband denied me emergency medical attention, I nearly hemorrhaged to death! I have chronic pain, sometimes completely doubles me over, I had dropped foot, serious back injuries from writhing in pain, curled up in a ball, a pretzel for 48 hours! I fell a lot after the surgery, the surgeons told me I was lucky it wasn't a tumor and I wasn't paralyzed!