You and your family have already been through a lot having to deal with the colon resection and cancer in the first place; it is probably devestating for this additonal setback. It is good that you are seeking additional opinions... I suggest first of all that you actually have an additional specialist have a look at him so that he/she can consider his individuel case.
In the meantime, I can provide you with some more information about what to expect and maybe the questions you could ask to get some good answers.
In some cases with a colon resection, there is the problem of blockage in the intestine from scar tissue forming/and/or swelling related to the healing process. If it were scar tissue, it would be necessary to remove the tissue. If it is swelling, then the "wait and see" procedure actually makes some sense. They don't want to put him through more surgery while he is in this delicate position and very suseptible to infection. However, I would think it would be necessary to determine the reason for the blockage before taking the wait and see approach... if it is scar tissue, it's not likely to receed on it's own. Endoscopy and contrast imaging aid in the diagnosis of mechanical bowel obstruction.
If there is no blockage to be seen, the next problem that is common is the formation of an ileus, which is essentially an unresponsive section of the intestine where things get trapped because they aren't being moved along.
Believe it or not, there have been recent studies showing that allowing a patient to chew gum three times daily will help relieve the symptoms of an ileus. Many times patients can not tolerate putting enough food into their digestive tracts to stimulate the ileus back to life, however, chewing the gum doesn't add food but does stimulate the brain to release the same hormones it would release during eating, which can stimulate the bowel.
I found an article on this you may want to check out at the link below:
http://www.foodconsumer.org/cgi-bin/777/exec/view.cgi/14/2616
The surgical stress response in itself can be what leads to systemic generation of endocrine and inflammatory mediators that also promote the development of ileus. Nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibitors and substance P receptor antagonists have been demonstrated to improve gastrointestinal function in this case.
Recovery from a non-complicated bowel resection usually takes two months after spending about a week in the hospital. In the meantime, food choices will be restricted to make it easier for the colon to respond. Eating the wrong foods that are not allowed on the diet resection can also cause blockages and complications. You seem very well informed and on top of things, so I doubt that this is the problem unless you were unaware of his diet restrictions.
They are probably trying to avoid having to put in a colostomy bag, which would be the next step if the colon remains unresponsive. This is a positive thing but at this time I understand that your main concern is that the wait and see approach does not seem to be proactive enough for you. That is reasonable and it is within your rights to ask your doctor to take more measures to stimulate the bowel back to responsiveness. Seek a second opinion if your efforts continue to get the brush off.
I sincerely hope that this is resolved for you quickly. As I said before, the situation is stressful enough without complications.
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