Peter Harris

Derby, UK

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My name is Peter Harris. Having had bowel cancer in 2023 which was successfully removed and followed up by chemotherapy, I was feeling relatively well until in May 2024 I was incorrectly diagnosed with constipation by my GP and prescribed 2 months of laxatives. Three days later in extreme pain my wife and stepson rushed me into Derby Royal Hospital Emergency where, after three hours, I had a CT scan and was rushed into theatre with a strangulated upper bowel. Mr Bhati operated removing 36 inches of bowel and saved my life. I was kept in an induced coma and the next day Mr Hurst operated and created a double barrel ileostomy. I was in hospital for 18 days during which I recovered and was shown how to manage a stoma. When I was back at home the Stoma team visited me until I was well enough to return to Out Patients. The care was brilliant and I managed to change my stoma myself every three days. Stoma supplies by Coloplast were excellent.

The only problem I had at this stage was an overactive stoma. I was on a low product diet and lost quite bit of weight but I ate well and kept things balanced, even if I did eat a lot of puddings and ice cream. Initially it was planned that I would have the stoma reversed in January 2025. But in discussion with Mr Hurst and the stoma team it was suggested that I might be suitable for the Insides system and after a demonstration by the company representative Surrinder I was set up with the Insides driver and the tubes in my ileostomy. This enabled me to manage things a lot better and got my lower bowel back into action. I did have a few problems with the pump head getting blocked with chime and I had to replace two units after only two days but I did this myself and things settled down. I went back to Royal Derby to have the tubes replaced on schedule. I also had weekly blood tests as my magnesium was low and took a magnesium supplement which was awful. I had one litre of St Marks solution and one litre of other liquids every day.

On the 21st October I had my stoma reversal operation which was successful and after five days I was home again. This was 3 months earlier than it would have been without the Insides system as my lower bowel was now functioning properly. The District Nurses visited every other day to check my dressings where the stoma hole was healing up. After a week or so I started to change my diet back to a more normal range of foods.

It is now 11 months after the reversal operation and I am back to normal. I am lucky to be alive and able to get on with life after such a short time. The Insides system definitely enabled me to have my stoma reversed 3 months earlier than it would have traditionally been done. Many thanks.

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