Right Hemicolectomy

Today I'd like to talk about an operation called right hemicolectomy. A right hemicolectomy is commonly performed for either right-sided bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease. Your doctor or surgeon will be explaining to you why you're having the operation. There are two main methods of this operation which is laparoscopic surgery which is keyhole surgery to remove the right side of the colon or open surgery. Open surgery is where you will have a cut a vertical cut in the middle of your abdomen or it can be horizontal. The surgery is performed under general anesthetic which means you will be asleep for the operation and you won't feel anything. The risks of the operation as with any operation are pain and your anaesthetist and your doctors will explain to you some of your options for pain relief which may include a needle in the back to help you recover in the days after the operation or you may be given a patient controlled analgesia, PCA, which means that your painkillers will be delivered via a drip in the arm. Another risk of the operation is infection, either deep inside where you may experience a collection, which is a collection of fluid that can become infected. If this occurs, you may notice fever after the operation or pain quite commonly. If you are found to have a collection on a scan afterwards. It may be that you have a drainage with a tube which can drain the collection, or it may be that you need a further operation to wash out the collection. There is a chance of the join that is made once the bowel is cut out of leaking, and this is called an anastomotic leak, and that's why you will stay several days in hospital afterwards until your doctors are happy that this hasn't occurred. Other common risks can be chest infection so you will be asked to take big breaths in and out to avoid you getting a chest infection. There is a chance of your wound getting infected and therefore it will be dressed in order to help keep it clean. There is a chance of bleeding and you will be given you'll be having some bloods taken so that we know what your blood type is in case you need a transfusion. With any keyhole surgery or open operation there is a small chance of injury to the internal organs. We always warn of injury to the ureter which is a tube that sits under the colon that provides that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder. If there is any injury to this, if the bowel is inflamed and is very difficult to peel away from the ureter, it may be that you need a temporary ureteric stent in order for the kidney to drain urine into the bladder. There is a chance of injury to the small intestine, such as the duodenum, and there is a chance of injury to the bladder and other organs in the abdomen such as the liver or spleen. With any operation such as this we always will ask you to wear stockings to prevent a clot developing in your legs and lungs and you will also be given a small injection to help thin the blood in the days after the operation.