Congratulations to every colorectal surgery patient who has been successfully discharged from the hospital after surgery. Discharge from the hospital does not mean the end of treatment. For colorectal cancer, surgery is only the first step in the entire treatment. Depending on your condition, your doctor may arrange follow-up chemotherapy, radiation or targeted therapy for you. This guide is only for your life precautions after discharge from the hospital, it is not a treatment guide, you still have to visit the clinic for further treatment.
【Activity and exercise】.
1. Gradually resume moderate exercise after discharge, which is helpful to restore your strength and appetite.
2.Strenuous exercise and heavy physical labor should be avoided for six months.
3, rectal surgery patients should avoid squatting and forceful defecation within 1 month; colostomy (artificial anus) patients should always avoid strenuous exercise and weight bearing.
4, depending on the nature of your work, you can generally resume work (non-heavy physical labor) 1-3 months after discharge.
5.Usually you can gradually resume sexual life after 2-3 months after surgery. The surgery may have negative effects on sexual life, so please consult your doctor during the follow-up consultation if your sexual life is abnormal.
【Diet】.
1.Most of the taboos about diet circulated by the folk have no scientific basis to confirm, please do not accept them.
2.The transition from semi-liquid diet to normal diet can be made in a relatively short time after discharge (usually within 1-2 weeks).
3, it is advisable to eat less and more meals, without causing discomfort, to restore the total amount of food to the pre-operative level faster in favor of later treatment.
4, promote a healthy diet (fruits, vegetables, noodles, low-fat, lean meat, fish); eat as little gas-producing food as possible (e.g. cabbage, onions, soda)
5, if eating significantly less than the normal amount of food, you can take drugs to promote appetite and digestive tract dynamics under the guidance of the doctor, or infusion of nutritional solution in the community hospital to supplement nutrition.
6.If there is vomiting and diarrhea during chemotherapy, please drink more water to avoid dehydration.
[Postoperative defecation abnormalities].
1. Diarrhea or constipation, anal swelling, poor bowel control, anal dampness and pain and other discomforts often occur after colorectal surgery.
2, diarrhea or stool significantly increased, you can take Similac (priority) or Emmon to stop diarrhea, if not effective, please consult a doctor.
3. In case of constipation, take foods that help with bowel movement (such as fruits, sesame oil, etc.), consult a doctor if necessary.
4. Strengthening the exercise of contracting the anus after one month after surgery helps to improve the poor bowel control ability of the anus.
5. Hot salt water sitz bath for 10 minutes each time, 3 times a day can help patients with defecation difficulties, anal swelling and anal pain.
【Post-operative condition change】.
If the following conditions occur after surgery, please seek medical consultation promptly.
1. Fever (body temperature ≥37.5℃).
2. Diarrhea or constipation after the above simple treatment is ineffective.
3. Vomiting or anal cessation of defecation and exhaustion.
4, sudden onset of severe abdominal pain or persistent pain without relief.
5. Obvious blood in the stool (not a small amount of blood or small flaky bleeding on the surface of the stool).
6. redness, swelling, pain and pus flowing from the wound.
7. prolapse of the intestinal tube of the fistula with lengthening or color change.
8. If the condition changes rapidly, please visit the nearest emergency clinic.
Post-operative follow-up】.
1, post-operative follow-up is usually 2 weeks after surgery, ordinary patients can come to the outpatient clinic once every 3 weeks to review, statistical patient case information. Tumor markers (CEA, CA19-9) can be checked once every 3 months for 3 years after surgery; if there is any change in the situation, you can follow up at any time without the above time limit.
2. Please bring along the discharge certificate, pathology report, major examination reports, CT films from outside hospital, etc. to the clinic.
3. Follow up clinic time: Monday morning (General Outpatient Clinic Room 10).
[Post-operative follow-up treatment].
1. At your first follow-up visit (2 weeks after surgery), the doctor will arrange follow-up treatment for you according to your disease stage and physical condition, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy and targeted therapy.
2. At present, most Chinese medicines still lack scientific basis for their therapeutic effects on tumors, so we do not recommend or oppose your use of Chinese medicines; if you need to use them, please use them under the guidance of doctors in regular hospitals, as unauthorized use of medicines or prescriptions may often lead to serious organ dysfunction.
Special reminder: This guide is only a general life guideline for patients with colorectal diseases. Due to the differences of patients’ conditions and individuals, this guide is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a doctor; if this guide is not consistent with the doctor’s medical advice, please follow the doctor’s medical advice.