As we mentioned in a previous post, Peanut was scheduled for major bowel surgery on the 28th (yesterday), and we’re happy to report, that it went as well as can be expected.

We (and her team of doctors) had three main goals to accomplish with by doing this surgery. 1) to “take down” the ostomy and reconnect the remaining small intestine to what’s left of her colon – the rectal stump. 2) recent contrast x-rays showed that Peanut’s small intestines had become very dilated in some parts – so this needed to be looked at and possibly surgically corrected with a bowel lengthening procedure. 3) To remove any scar tissue from the previous three abdominal surgeries. Scar tissue is one of the leading causes of intestinal blockages…so a little preventative internal maintenance was a must for her.

Surgery started about 1pm yesterday and finished at 6pm. She was in recovery for about an hour and a half before moving to one of the the pediatric inpatient floors to see all of her “nurse friends” that she had made with her last three inpatient stints here in September & October. We were greeted by several familiar faces. 🙂

All in all, the surgeons accomplished our three goals for Peanut…in a round about way. They had originally planned to use her old incision site, but instead at the beginning of surgery opted to use the stoma opening incision instead. I believe due to possible scar tissue complications with the old incision. They confirmed what the x-rays hinted at – that her small intestines were in fact quite dilated in some spots. They ended up having to remove just over 6 more inches of a dilated bowel loop that was essentially not functioning. There was also a partial blockage in that same area. So by removing this they were able to address most of the dilation issue. There is still some parts that are dilated – just not enough to be surgically corrected with a bowel lengthening procedure. They also believe with the removal of the dilated bowel, they (fingers crossed) solved the problem that was causing her intestinal bacterial overgrowth – which is what made her so sick the past two months. The big loop basically kept waste from passing through properly which became a breeding ground for too much bacteria. After that they were able to successfully reconnect the small intestine to her rectal stump. Next they removed scar tissue (abdominal adhesions) that they thought could pose future problems.

One minor hiccup that we’re keeping an eye on is with her pain management. The anesthesiologist placed the epidural thinking that they were still going to use the “old incision”. Since they used an incision that is about an inch lower than planned, she may not be getting the full effects or benefits of the epidural. She was pretty uncomfortable through the night, waking a lot, feverish, higher heart rate. They are supplementing, for now, with morphine and tylenol to get her to a more comfortable state.

We’re told that it could take a few days for the gut to “wake up” and work like it should. So we’ll meet with the surgeons and GI folks in rounds later this morning and hopefully lay out a more concrete plan for recovery, feeding, and pooping.

We have several close relatives helping out with Lulu, Potato Boy, and Sissy while we’re away…a HUGE thanks to you all!