During an annual health visit, Joanne Owen shared with her primary care doctor that she was in pain and had been suffering with it for months. The 76-year-old from Schiller Park, Illinois, thought she had a hernia. "I felt pain in the lower left groin, and I could feel a ball there," she said.
Her doctor recommended she visit the emergency room immediately, and it was there that Bipan Chand, MD, a gastroenterologist at Ascension Illinois in Chicago, diagnosed her with diverticulitis. This gastrointestinal disease affects the large intestine wall. It causes abnormal pouches to form, which can become inflamed or infected.
"Joanne had been suffering for many months with abdominal pain and what we call a fistula or a sepsis, which is an infection that was going to her skin because of her diverticulitis," he said.
Joanne's brother was diagnosed with diverticulitis 35 years ago, so she was familiar with the disease. There is only a year difference in age between her and her brother, but she explained times have changed when it comes to surgery options. "He had to have a [colostomy] bag for 10 months," she said, adding she hoped that would not be her fate.
Advanced treatment for colon diseases
To treat Joanne's diverticulitis, Dr. Chand recommended she have colon surgery to remove the affected areas of her large intestines. "Colon surgery is done to treat various diseases, from cancers to diverticula," he said. "There's a number of other diseases, but those are the two most common diseases." Before he could perform the surgery, Dr. Chand and his care team had to help Joanne get rid of her infection by draining it from her body to get her ready for the operation. She had to go through a series of radiology, antibiotics, blood tests and endoscopy to make sure her body could handle the colon surgery.
Dr. Chand performed a robotic resection to remove a part of the diseased colon and then reconnect the healthy colon. The colon surgery can be done as either an open surgery procedure or a laparoscopic robotic procedure. The robotic option is minimally invasive and uses innovative technology to help reduce patient recovery time and discomfort. "Robotic (or a laparoscopic) operation affords the ability to do something through much smaller holes," he said. "We're still doing the same operations you would receive in an open approach, but through a much smaller incision."
Minimally invasive procedures that help with recovery
Dr. Chand and the surgical care team are able to perform the procedure because they have the training and experience using the technology. "The technology has much more precise instruments that are magnified, special stapling devices, and special suturing devices that allow a surgeon to do the exact same thing as with open surgery, but through a less invasive procedure," Dr. Chand said.
The robotic surgical technique was the best option for Joanne, who doesn't like to be away from home for too long. Dr. Chand shared that his patients normally return home after a two-night stay in the hospital. Joanne stayed a day and a half in the hospital after surgery and did not have to wear a bag like her brother did 35 years ago. "I was able to get up and walk around with no pain, no scarring. It was wonderful," Joanne said.
It took Joanne four days to feel like herself again. After three weeks of rest, she returned to tending her garden. "I can't say enough good about Dr. Chand and everyone who works with him," she said. Every single person was great. Dr. Chan made sure everybody knew what they were doing. He's just excellent."
To learn more about advanced care for colon diseases, please visit ascension.org/ilcoloncancer.