Intestinal blockage questions, please help

JanJan63
JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
in Esophageal Cancer #1

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on the esophageal cancer page. I have colorectal so that's where I've been posting and everyone on there is wonderfully helpful. My concern right now is for my brother who is dealing with stage two esophageal cancer. He's been on chemo and radiation but then became very sick and had violent spells of vomiting. They inserted a feeding tube and he was good for a few days then it came back worse than before. He actually threw up his feeding tube.

He was taken to emergency and hospitalized. They reinserted the feeding tube but have reduced the amount that goes in it. They've diagnosed an intestinal blockage but don't know if it's just a section of the intestine that's not working or if it's actually blocked off. He has two hernias he's never had treated and the doctors think they might be the issue. He's not a good candidate for surgery due to having COPD and the radiation has damaged his heart and lungs. He's otherwise healthy, though.

The worst case scenario if they do the surgery is he'll die on the table due to being on a respirator too long. The best outcome is that he'll survive it but be on a respirator for up to six months afterwards. He's already stated that he won't agree to surgery but we're trying to talk him into it. If he has a kinked or twisted intestine that's left untreated he'll be gone within a week. He's sixty-seven years old. I think that since this has gone on for over a week it's not just a section of intestine that needs to wake up. I had that after my cancer surgery and it only took a couple of days to wake up.

Can somebody shed some light on what it's like to be on a respirator that long or what the possibilities might be if he does the surgery? Please, I can't seem to find any useful information on line.

Thank you,

Jan

Comments

  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #2
    I am not aware of anyone who has been on a respirator that long

    Jan,

    I am very sorry to hear about your brother’s current condition. Most of us who have had esophageal surgery have been on a respirator for some period of time, but typically one to two weeks is considered to be a extended period. I know they tell me the longer a patient is on the respirator the more respiratory rehabilitation is required to restore normal lung function.

    I have to admit if I were your brother I would be questioning the wisdom of surgery at this point. I hope someone else on the forum has some better answers for you. I have heard in some situations where an exploratory scope can be done from both the esophagus and the colon at the same time, to see if they can clear a twisted digestive segment.

    I hope you get better news soon. 

    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams

    McCormick, South Carolina

    DX 10/2009 T2N1M0  Stage IIB - Ivor Lewis Surgery  12/3/2009 - Post Surgery Chemotherapy 2/2009 – 6/2009
    Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU - Four Year Survivor

     

     

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