Hi everyone, My husband is scheduled for surgery tomorrow for tag removal and spincterotomy. I'm trying to learn what I can as this all came up pretty quickly. I plan to read through your site this afternoon for information, but I'm wondering if anyone would be kind enough to just give us some general suggestions for preparing for tromorrow and also what to expect and have on hand tomorrow after surgery. The hospital is calling us later this afternoon with info., but I'm thinking I might get some of the best tips from you all since you've gone through this. Any info. on after surgery care and supplies to have on hand, dietary tips and any other helpful tips would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Well, get some stool softeners - most important! He'll need some painkillers, and tell him to keep on top of the pain with them, dont let pain set in as it's harder to get rid of. They will probably give him a local anaesthetic so that when he comes round it will be numb. Dont let that fool him, when it wears off it hurts. Quite a bit! So take a painkiller before it happens.
Shower after a BM with a handheld shower spray.
Possibly just eat liquid stuff like soup. Drink lots of water, get lots of rest, oh, and pamper him a bit!!
Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!

Hi Joyce,
I had exactly the same procedure done last year. Best decision I ever made!
Diet is really important so that the bm's are soft while recovering. Soft high fiber foods, avoiding any sharp foods or constipating that will make stools harder like cheese, red meat is important while recovering. There are many good tips on here:)
Stool softeners will help with the prescription pain meds to keep from constipating. Many of us take miralax or docusate sodium, etc. Just do whatever has worked before surgery that made the bm's soft and maybe take a little extra while on pain killers.
Some over the counter pain killers like ibuprofen may be useful after stopping the RX. I stopped the vicodin on day two.
Baby wipes, cotton, q-tips may be helpful for gentle cleaning. I used hand held shower wand for rinsing then took the baths. Everybody has there preference...
After the surgery, he will be pretty numb most of the day. I found it useful to stay on top of the pain and taking the pain killers pretty regular the first night and day after surgery. If pain killers nauseate your husband normally, he may want to ask for a RX that well help with the nausea.
You may want to have some milk of magnesia on hand incase bm doesn't come after 2nd day- just incase.
Good luck to your husband:) There's tons of info on here.

Hi Joyce - I'm so sorry your poor hubby has to go through this! I second what the others have said. Definitely encourage your husband to stay on top of the pain and take the pain meds before the local wears off. Prescripton pain meds will constipate, so stool softeners are a must. Many of us here use Miralax/Restoralax. After a few days, I was able to replace my prescription meds with Ibuprofen and/or Robaxacet.
He will also likely be extremely anxious about the first bowel movement. Try to reassure him that it won't be as bad as he expects - for many of us the first BM is very scary, but it hurt less than before the surgery, or at least it didn't hurt any more than before the surgery. Tell him not to push, but to just breathe deeply and relax. Some of us still had some minor spasms after BMs after the surgery - this goes away, but they can still hurt. A few of us just used muscle relaxants, like extra-strength Robaxacet; others got valium from their gps.
He'll want to keep the area clean and dry. He should shower and/or bathe after each BM. Some folks use a 'sitz bath'. he should dry the butt very well after (some folks use blowdryers set to 'cool')
His doc might tell him that he'll be good to go back to work in a few days. Most of us believe that's total nonsense. At least a week is required, but two weeks are better, for recovery. The healing process itself will take up to 6 to 8 weeks.
A possible checklist could be:
1. Stool softener
2. Prescription pain meds
3. OTC pain meds (e.g., Ibuprofen, Robaxacet - the combo I use)
4. Anti-anxiety med
5. Sitz bath
6. Cotton pads (for cleaning)
7. Hand-held shower nozzle (if you don't already have one)
8. High-fiber, soft, easy to digest food.
9. Some good movies
10. Two weeks off work
I hope this helps and I really hope your hubby's surgery goes well!
If you have any questions while your husband is recovering, just post and we'll try our best to be helpful!
:D

I can't thank you all enough for answering our post and giving us so many helpful hints. It helped Larry relax about things a little. I'm going to read through the posts this evening to try and get ideas for what's best to cook for him. I'll post tomorrow evening and let you all know how he's doing. Thank you again for all the information...it's really, really appreciated!

hi joyce,
we wish him good luck and hopefully he will be so happy he got this done!
all the advice up above is awesome!
good luck!
happy