A question about the digestive system

January 11, 2004

Hi all,

My dad is still in the hospital with a partial obstruction in his upper

intestine. He went in for a resection on 12/8, went back into the

hospital on 12/19 and had to have surgery on 12/22 because

two areas of his upper intestine were twisted and needed to be

resected. He hasn't done real well since the second surgery--he's

weak, has had some major reactions to some of the drugs he was

given, and he still has an NG tube in, which is causing him quite

a bit of discomfort since it sometimes stops working and also

because they sometimes have to reposition, which is very painful

for him.

The good news is that he was able to have two bowel movements

yesterday with the help of suppositories. My question shows my

ignorance, but I have to ask: He's on an IV for hydration, as well as

nourishment. I know that waste can still be produced even though

he's not eating solids. Did the BMs that came out yesterday have

to go through the stomach, to the small intestine, to the large intestine,

and out the rectum? There's no shortcut to get to the rectum if you're

getting everything by IV, right?

I'm really, really hoping that this is a sign that his partial obstruction

is going to resolve itself. It's been such a long time. They are still

hearing some bowel sounds and they're going to do more xrays

tomorrow. Hopefully it will show an improvement.

Thanks for any insight,

Karin (Toby's daughter)

Recommended Posts