Hemicolectomy

Most hemicolectomies are minimally invasive (laparoscopic or robotic) surgeries. Here’s what typically happens during a laparoscopic hemicolectomy:

• You receive general anesthesia, so you’re asleep during surgery.
• Your surgeon will make a small incision in your abdomen.
• They’ll place a laparoscope through the incision. This is a thin rod with a tiny video camera. The camera projects images of your colon onto a video screen.
• Next, they’ll pump gas into your abdomen. The gas inflates your abdomen and gives your surgeon a clear view of the section of your colon that they’ll remove.
• Your surgeon may make a few more small incisions to get to your colon.
• They’ll remove the section of your colon that’s damaged by disease or injury. They’ll also take a small section of healthy colon from either side of the section they remove.
• If you have colon cancer, your surgeon will remove nearby lymph nodes. A pathologist will examine them for cancer.
• Your surgeon will connect the healthy sections of your colon (anastomosis).
• In a right hemicolectomy, your surgeon will connect your remaining colon to the end of your small intestine. In a left hemicolectomy, your colon will connect with your rectum.
• The surgeon may do a colostomy. This procedure creates a path for your poop to leave your body. You may need one if the ends of your colon can’t connect, or your surgeon wants to give your colon a chance to heal.

A laparoscopic hemicolectomy typically takes two to three hours to complete. Your care team will update your family and/or friends throughout your surgery.

You’ll stay in the hospital for three to four days. While you’re in the hospital, you’ll:

• Receive pain medication as needed: Your care team will gradually reduce pain medication before you leave the hospital.
• Have a liquid or soft diet: A hemicolectomy can affect your body’s ability to digest food. It may cause your large intestine to stop digesting food. You’ll stay on a liquid or soft food diet until you can fart and poop.
• Start moving around: Your care team will likely have you up and walking the day of surgery.
• Receive information on what to do once you’re home: For example, if you have a colostomy, your care team will show you how to take care of it.