Father having radical cystectomy on Friday

I know chemo can sometimes cause extreme damage to the lining of the intestines but that usually heals on its own so i'm not sure how that affected the surgery?
Give him a pack of Spearment gum and have him chew a pack a day..that will produce some saliva and also get his bowels moving.
its legit and the newest management to reduce ileus.
best wishes
pat

So he had a few modifications as his surgery was underway. Ahhh sounds like he got a CUSTOM cystectomy. Also, if memory serves me, he is walking several days ahead of me in my recovery. I’m cheering for him and for his continued progress in recovery. Thank you very much for this really important update.

UPDATE

Hi folks,

My father had his surgery on Friday and as far as we can tell, it was a success. We were told that the surgery would take 2.5 hours but could run up to 6 - in the end, it was 7.5. They had difficulty finding a ureter stent (that was placed in July when he had TURP) and difficulty working with "reaction" from the chemotherapy (I'm not sure exactly what this means - I was led to believe that the chemo would make everything easier to work with). Because the ureter was damaged, they couldn't bring the intestine down vertically (ileal conduit), so they had to run it horizontally (parallel to the intestines themselves). The doctor said this creates a risk of the conduit and the intestines twisting together, but it is a small risk and the only way that they could have performed the surgery.

He's resting comfortably in the hospital and is hopeful that he'll be released on Friday. The nurses have been taking him for walks and he's in good spirits. Still no water or food (he's not hungry - the thirst is what's driving him crazy) - how long until you can have ice/water in your experience?

Thanks for your good thoughts!

Hi folks,

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. One step at a time is the best advice - I will take a step back and try to convince my mother and father to do the same. We are hopeful that all will go well.

Patricia, I will pass on your suggestion of chewing gum! He is having the procedure at a regional medical center outside of NYC, so I think he's in good hands.

MotoMike, it seems my father and you are even more similar - I see your occupation listed on your tagline and that is his occupation as well! He is also put off by the "RC" terminology, so I may borrow your term I'm glad to hear that your surgery went well.

I will definitely post after the surgery and through the following weeks. Thanks for your support!

It sounds as if your dad & I share similar experience. I had no negative response to keymo. I had huge difficulty with the term “radical cystectomy” so I renamed it “mellow cystectomy”. It worked better for me.

My recovery took around 2 weeks as we waited for the internal organs to adjust. This requires a liquid diet and massive amounts of really bad TV. I’ve set up a TV tray with all the stuff needed for changing the bag. I currently have a minor skin infection but my skin has always been sensitive so I’m not too worried.

My May surgery went well and I am still adjusting to the lleal conduit bag. It will require patience and longer shirts. Tomorrow is his big day. I’ll be thinking of him and I’ll be watching for your future posts.

If you're at a top rated center with a surgeon who performs this surgery on a regular basis they should take into account any pre-existing problems and the anesthesiologist will know the precautions.
The ileal is the fastest to do and as far as the other things you are worried about..they're all variables and they can happen anywhere to anyone. Just make sure nurses and doctors wash their hands and wear gloves and as for visitors...wash hands. It takes a while to figure out applying the pouch but he should have a visiting nurse until he figures it all out. But prior to that he will have a lot of tubes in him that will stay until all is healed. Make sure he walks every day and a little trick to get the sleepy bowels moving again is chewing a pack of gum a day..honest!!
Take it a step at a time and don't worry about what might not happen.
pat