subject: Surgery For Colitis. Is It Right For You? [print this page] Surgery For ColitisSurgery For Colitis. Is It Right For You?
When suffering from colitis symptoms, either from a relapse or from their continuous presence, it is only natural for the patient to, at some point in time, consider the merits of surgery for colitis. With so much discomfort being experienced, the prospect of perpetual relief can be attractive but any decision has to be carefully considered because the ramifications are major.The actual surgical process will involve the extraction of the large colon and this is irrespective of whether it has become entirely diseased or only concentrated on a particular area. As the function of the large colon is simply a storage area for solid body waste to be held while water is reabsorbed into the body, if it is removed then the waste becomes a more liquid form. This is then eliminated through the anus or an opening that is formed on the side of the abdomen, called an ileostomy though this shall depend on the actual form of reconstruction of the waste system during surgery.So do a few occasions of flare ups really constitute a reason for a sufferer to even begin considering the option of surgery? It is usually only offered as an alternative for patients who have experienced regular major relapses over a period of years with short interludes of remission or for those who suffer constant symptoms. There are other circumstances such as where the bowel is about to or has perforated, or has become toxic where the colon becomes extremely distended plus also the urgent situation known as fulminant colitis, where severe diarrhoea and bleeding is suffered and a course of intravenous steroids has been administered but not brought the symptoms under control.For the majority of sufferers the one overriding factor that requires to be addressed is their quality of life and how colitis impacts on it. If the symptoms appear every couple of years for a few months then this can hardly suggest that the patient is severely restricted in life and only through surgery can some form of normality be achieved again. There can be feelings in the depths of a relapse that can create thoughts of "I never want to experience this again", or "I wish they would just cut this thing out of me" yet when faced with the challenge of an attack against the life changing event of surgery for colitis, the sufferer will most likely conclude that they can endure what the disease does to them when it's experienced on a periodic basis.The general belief is that if a sufferer of colitis can cope with relapses whenever they happen and then make a good recovery and get back into a full life again, the subject of surgery should really not be considered. It has to be understood that there is no set pattern when relapses do occur so over a period of years where there have been several does not in any way suggest that the following few years will be similarily replicated. There is the possibility that the frequency could reduce due to factors such as a change in lifestyle, better understanding of how to manage the disease including the role of diet and a reduction in the level of stress.Whilst it is a choice that ultimately the individual will make, it is important for detailed discussions with doctors and consultants plus also friends and family to be undertaken. It is advantageous for sufferers considering surgery to be fully informed of the procedures and consequences and to listen to opinion and advice from other former sufferers who have themselves faced the dilemma, experienced surgery for colitis and can advise of the outcomes and their thoughts on the very big decision that they took.
