Laparoscopic Bowel Resection Surgery – Causes and Risks

Laparoscopic bowel resection is an operation where the unhealthy small or large intestines are removed partly or as a whole. The process is also known as the colon removal, colectomy or colon resection. This surgery is opted when the intestines are affected and needs

treatment. The patient may syffer from conditions like bleeding, blockages, infections or inflammations. The surgery is also performed to remove the tumors or any growth like the cyst or polyps in the intestine.

Laparoscopic bowel resection is the easiest way to treat the problem with small incisions in the stomach. The amount of bowel removed during the surgery determines the cause of the surgery. In colostomy, a bag collects the stool from the incision made in the abdomen.

Proctocolectomy is the name of the procedure where the entire colon and the rectum are removed. But, when a part or the entire colon is removed it is a called subtotal colectomy. In this subtotal colectomy the rectum is not removed. The surgeries are done both in the traditional way also in the laparoscopic method.

The patient is given general anesthesia and small incisions are made in the laparoscopic procedure. The surgeon fills the abdomen area with gas to get a good view of the diseased area. The laparoscope along with the surgical instruments and the camera helps the surgeon to remove the unhealthy part of the large bowel. The healthy ends of the bowel are then sutured through the process called anastomosis. The incisions on the skin are closed with stitches.

The large bowel resection is necessary when a person suffers from colon cancer, diverticular disease, blocks in the intestine, damage caused to the large intestine due to the injuries, severe gastrointestinal bleeding, volvulus or the twisting of the intestines, pre-cancerous tumors, when one part of the intestine pushes into the other, or ulcerative colitis.

As any other surgery the patient experiences the risk of anesthesia like the one reacting to the medicines and problems related to breathing. The risks of Bowel Resection surgery are:

The adjacent organs may be mutilated

Ureter or bladder may get damaged

Formation of scar tissue in the stomach, which form as a blocks in the intestines

Anastomotic leaks which means the stitches break open in the sewn in the edges of the intestines

Protrusion of the tissues through the surgery opening causing incisional hernia

Internal abdominal bleeding

Lesions that break open

Infections of the wound

Problems in Colostomy

The patients usually leave the hospital by the fourth day of the surgery in laparoscopic bowel resection surgery. When a colostomy surgery is performed in an emergency, the patient may have to stay in the hospital for a week. Patients are given liquids to drink from the second or third day. After that thicker liquids are added in their diet for their bowel system to work again.

A laparoscopic bowel resection surgery is a safe and well-recovered surgery. People can resort to their normal activities including hiking, sports, gardening and other outdoor activities within a couple of month.

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