Long-Term Effects of a Colectomy

Surgeons carry out colectomies—the partial or complete removal of a patient’s colon, or large intestine—to treat a range of conditions and diseases, including colon cancer. A number of short-term complications are associated with the procedure, and there is always the possibility of a recurrence of the original condition or disease. With regard to the colectomy itself, however, the long-term prognosis for patients is good.

What is a Colectomy?

Colectomy is a procedure in which a surgeon removes all or part of the patient’s colon (the large intestine). Surgeons carry out various types of partial colectomy to treat conditions including colon cancer, diverticulitis and benign polyps of the colon. They most commonly carry out total colectomies to treat ulcerative colitis.

Different Means of Access

Surgeons gain access to the colon either through a single long incision in the abdomen (open colectomy) or through several small ones (the less invasive laparoscopic colectomy).

Colostomy Bags

Where possible the surgeon will reconnect the two remaining ends of healthy colon to one another and the patient will continue to pass feces through the anus. In some cases, however, this is not possible: in these and temporarily in some other circumstances, the colon is ported to the outside of the body where waste collects in a colostomy bag.

The Short Term

In the short term, colectomy entails a number of serious risk 2. The patient may also pass very loose stools.

The Longer Term

It is important to distinguish between the long-term effects of the colectomy itself and the recurrence of the condition that resulted in the colectomy in the first place. Even after a total colectomy, a patient can expect to resume normal activities after two to three weeks, although heavy lifting should be avoided for several more weeks after that. In the longer term, however, the condition that was the original reason for the procedure may recur.