Tony in hospital Small intestine question

John23 said:

alexinlv -

Re:
"They are prepping him for a colonoscopy on Tuesday in which they
will try to see further into the small intestine which shows a
thickening based on the scans. so any ideas on possibilities of
what that could mean?"

A colonoscopy deals with the viewing of the inside of the colon
(the large intestine), not the small intestine. The large intestine
is usually about 5 foot long.

I'm not too sure of there's much of a way they can look inside
the small intestine, since there's about 25 feet of that!

Rather than panic over what isn't known yet, consider this:
After any major abdominal surgery there will be hernias and
adhesions. Adhesions are part of the natural healing process,
but can be a major problem when they occur in the abdomen
because they can cause the intestine to stick to an organ (or itself),
or form in a band-like manner (rolling stones?) around the
intestine itself. When that happens, it can cause bloating, pain,
constipation, etc. A scan or sonogram may appear to have
a "thickening" at the area of an adhesion, since it actually
is a thickening; the scar/adhesion -is- tissue build-up.

Most often, an operation to correct an adhesion results
in more adhesions. There are some products that can be used
to "pack" inside the abdomen to help prevent adhesions. You
can ask your surgeon about that.

While your asking your surgeon about that, you should also
have him mark out the best spot for an ostomy, if there is
any chance what-so-ever that a permanent one is needed.
Please take the time to do that, since a poorly placed ostomy
formed out of haste and necessity, can present a real problem
for one that has to live with one; Plan ahead.

Until told otherwise, I would assume it's an adhesion, and
relax a bit. Worrying about what might never be, is a terrible
waste of energy!

Think good health!

Be well,

John