Complications from previous stomach ulcer operation - Hospitalization Stay in SGH - Part 1

An update of my mum's condition.

Initially I merely intend to summarize the whole 14 days of hospitalization in 1 paragraph since she is already much better now. But as I blogged, I've decided to blog more details for my recording in case I forgot the details of my mum's condition many years down the road. I've also decided to blog more details so that you guys can learn more about what kind of complications can arise from a stomach operation, why they may arise, what procedures/tests may be done, what kind of doctors you're dealing with when you're hospitalized in SGH(Singapore General Hospital) and what kind of things you need to look out for if you or your loved ones are hospitalized. If you're one who is thirsty for knowledge, then read on.

"The BEST lessons are those learnt FREE from other people's experiences.

- Fion Lim

Mummy was hospitalized in SGH because of insistent pain in stomach and excessive vomiting. She was hospitalized since 4th AUG and was only discharged this afternoon on 18th AUG. In fact, after 1 year from her stomach ulcer operation(stitching up of a hole in stomach) done 5years ago, she has been experiencing abdominal pains. Sometimes we go GP or hospital A&E. For the past year it was worse as she also experienced vomiting. And this had to be the worst with the most terrible and persistent pain and vomiting thus she was warded.

For the 1st 2 days of hospitalization, Mummy could not stop vomiting despite having jabs to stop it. The pain, though suppressed with painkillers jab, always come again. FINALLY, the doctors have the brains to put her on drip and stop her food intake. However the pain continued. I'm quite puzzled why a scope wasnt arranged(merely mentioned)...anyway my mum protested strongly against any scope...so a CT scan was finally arranged and it showed a bent/clogged intestine.

I asked the doctor what might have caused it. "Is it a complication from her previous surgery??" So a local female doctor told me yes, and it's not an unusual complication. If you did an op in the stomach, there will be lesion(wound). When they are healing, they are sticky with the blood clotting up etc and may cause adhesions. If an adhesion is external, we can always fix it right away because we can see. But because it's inside the stomach, you cant see, you wont know and therefore you cant fix an abdominal adhesion.

A CT scan showed a bent intestine, which might have sticked to the stomach wall. A CT scan is like taking a 2D picture. You can see all the organs and such in their position, but you wont know whether they are overlapping each other on a front and back basis or merely near to each other. When an intestine is bent, food cant process through normally. As food piles up from the bent area with pressure, it causes pain. When it got so full to near the brim, it causes vomiting.

So an FT doctor(probably from India) called me(because I was working) and said they're going to ask the NURSE to insert a thin tube through mummy's nose to suck out all the food from the intestine to release the pressure, in a way to relieve the pain.

I was like,

Me: Thr...through the nose? Will that cause pain??
Doc: It will definitely cause some discomfort, yes
Me: Is it possible to do it under partial anesthesia?
Doc: Oh that shouldnt be necessary because it's just a simple procedure, non-invasive.
Me: This is a simple procedure?? It IS invasive!(invasive means inserting something into your body). You're inserting a tube from her nose into her stomach to reach her intestines and you're telling me it's non-invasive??
Doc: Erm......it's not thattttttt invasive
Me: *WTF* And you're going to let a NURSE do it?
Doc: Trained nurse, yes.
Me: Can a doctor possibly do it?? Because I'm worried
Doc: *Clearly annoyed* Fine fine we'll get a doctor to do it.
And then he disconnected the call RUDELY.

I was worried because clearly, he doesnt seem to take my words seriously nor seems compassionate to the patient's suffering. He's not reassuring me at all. Not to mention, his fcking irritating accent is super difficult to understand on the phone. Granted that I'm not a medical professional(although I'm not that stupid either) SO doctors should re-assure the patients and the patient's family members to UNDERSTAND what should be done, why it should be done etc.

I was worried and perplexed too. How can a nurse, despite being trained, perform an invasive procedure? Moreover, mummy had an serious operation done before in her stomach. I rushed down to the hospital while calling mummy not to let any nurse touch her. I went down and another female local doctor explained to me that, yes, the procedure might be discomforting but it's not recommended to use anesthesia because they're not good for the body too. As for the insertion of the tube, she assured me and even showed me(the real thing) that they are very very thin, to minimize any discomfort. She also told me these trained nurses do them EVERYDAY, like maybe 1 or 2 patients per day. The doctors dont do it at all, so these nurses will probably do them BETTER than the doctors. Also, the suction pump they're using to pump out the food is a lower power one as they did consider mummy's stomach is weaker than normal beings.

(=.=)''''' Okie fine................But at least she's reassuring me...and I felt more at ease. And I also explained everything to mummy.



To be continued.................................................
Complications from previous stomach ulcer operation - Hospitalization Stay in SGH - Part 2 / Low-fiber Diet