Medical Expert Advice Wanted

A friend (and tenant) was found last September to have a carcinoid tumor in his small intestine. In late November, more tests were conducted and a biopsy was done (benign) and he is scheduled for surgery on Jan. 15. My question-he is 71 years old, good health otherwise-is this an intense procedure? He's expecting to be out of the hospital within 2 days and back to normal in a week. Reasonable or just optimistic?

The reason I need to know is that he is insisting on coming back to the house (although he has children who could help him with his convalescence). I have 2 large active dogs and because I am concerned with injury should they get rowdy around him, I am frustrated that I will be forced to take vacation from my job to take care of him (which I resent because he does have family).

Hospitals and doctors have concluded that given the chance, a lot of people are slackers which is also why welfare becomes a way of life.

Anyway, they usually are "optimistic" just to get the lazy people off their butts a bit sooner. This is also like "bar time" where the clocks in the bar are 10 minutes fast.

Take the time frame and add two days to be realistic.

Just MHO, but having had two parents, two in-laws, and a husband that have all had surgery of one sort or another in recent years...they release you from the hospital too soon.

I know part of the concern is the "germs" that one might pick up post-surgery in the hospital. But having cared for folks, post surgery, at home, it can be overwhelming.

I think I'd ask the kids to care for him. But if he comes to your place, the best advice...rent a hospital table. It will save you dozens of trips to the bedroom of the recovering person. You can set it up with "stuff" they'll need and won't have to be running back and forth getting things.

I would say it depends on if the surgery is done laparoscopically or not. I had my gallbladder out a couple of years ago. It was done by scope and I was back home in a few hours. Surgery was on Friday and I went back to my office job the following Tuesday.

So if he's a healthy guy, and there is not a full-blown incision to worry about, I would say the timeframe sounds about right. I'd still keep the dogs away from him, though.

It all depends upon exactly what is done during surgery. IMHO, anything that requires opening up the abdomen requires about 7-10 days of recovery time requiring skilled nursing care. This time is much less (~2 days or so) if the surgery is done via a laproscope. He is not "out of the woods" for 7-10 days after the surgery.

Keeping people in a hospital is expensive... that is why they (the health insurance industry) try to get the post-op time down to a minimum needed for a successful outcome. They are most willing to let someone else assume care of the patient at "no cost".

Fortunately, there is a provision in most health insurance plans, including Medicare, for patients who need it to recover in a "Skilled Nursing Facility" (SNF) for up to about 4 months. Here they can get nursing care for the wound, and Physical and/or Occupational Therapy as needed. These facilities are quite useful in the post-hospital recovery of surgical patients (hip surgery) as well as stroke victims.

YOU should NOT assume the responsibility for his post-op nursing care unless you are running a SNF unit and have the training in nursing!!! Have him ask his Doctors to discharge him to a SNF and not to "home" for at least until HE feels like he has recovered enough for independent living. There should be a "Discharge Planner" who can assist in this effort. If he is 71, he will have this benefit from Medicare at least, and it should be at minimal extra cost. If you are accepting him back straight out of the hospital, you are just saving the Health Care Insurance industry some $$ in care they OWE him!

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