Colorectal surgeryt is any surgery which is performed in the area of either your colon, rectum or anus and obviously includes hemorrhoid procedures as well.
It is a good idea, even before the surgery, so that it gets well into your system, to begin taking a fibre supplement which usually comes in a powdered form and which is mixed with either water or fruit juice. This fibre will ensure that stools are soft and hence result in less painful evacuations. Added to this, you should also make sure you drink at least six glasses of water a day.
It goes without saying that your doctor will prescribe adequate pain killers for you to take for several days after the operation as this sort of surgery can be quite painful and as a preventative measure a course of anti-biotics will be given as well. This is very important as you have an internal wound which comes into direct contact with your stools thus increasing the chance of infection so hence the importance of the anti-biotics to prevent this from happening.
One must bear in mind always that because of the area involved it is clear that in order to prevent any complications the strictest levels of hygiene must be adhered to.
After the operation you will have had some biodegradable gauze inserted into your anal canal which will come out with your first bowel movement, although as you will have been given an enema directly before surgery you will, fortunately, not feel like going for a day or two which gives your internal parts a little bit more time to heal. When you do have your first bowel movement during the first couple of days you will probably bleed a little but this is normal (so long as it is only a little) and will disappear quite soon.
The easiest way to keep the area clean and deal with any seepage from your rectum is to wear maxi size sanitary pads and to change them frequently and certainly after any bowel movement.
When you have had a bowel movement gently clean yourself with special wet toilet wipes, which are much softer and do a better job of cleaning, and then sit in a warm bath for about 15 minutes which will ease the pain and encourage healing. When you come out of the bath dry yourself gently with some gauze and before putting on a new sanitary pad you should clean the area again with soothing witch hazel pads and then apply special disinfectant cream for the anus to the outer area.
Do not exert yourself in any way for the first couple of weeks and allow your internal wound to heal completely. With each day the pain will get less but it is important to keep up with the fibre supplement and revert to a different form of eating to include lots of fruit and vegetables so as to avoid any constipation problems which is the last thing you want to go through so soon after one of these operations!
