Laparoscopic Total Colectomy & Ileoanal Pullthrough

Post-operative Care

You will probably return to the room that you were in before surgery. Sometimes, room changes need to be done because of other patient's clinical needs on the floor. You will probably have a roomate. Each of you has a TV, a VCR or a DVD player. A Child Life Specialist is available on the unit to provide videos, arts and crafts, games and other activities.

Once you have arrived on your assigned unit, you will meet your nurse and get settled into a room. You will be somewhat sleepy for the rest of the day. Your temperature, heart rate, breathing and blood pressure will be checked. You will be shown how to use something called an incentive spirometer ("blow bottle") which helps show you how big the breaths are you are taking. Your nurse and parents will remind you to do 10 breaths with this every few hours. It helps to inflate your lungs fully until you are up and moving around more often. This will prevent you from developing pneumonia. During the next few days, you will be expected to do many tasks to help in your recovery. One of the most important ones will be learning how to take care of your ostomy. You will not be allowed to go home until you are able to demonstrate that you can care for your ostomy properly.