Right Hemicolectomy Due to a Complication of Crohn's Disease - Psoas Abscess

Earlier this year I had a major operation; a right hemicolectomy due to a complication of Crohn's disease. The Crohn's had caused a leak on to my Psoas Muscle and it turned into a dangerous abscess containing 300ml of pus (sorry I know that is gross). A Psoas Abscess is actually unusual, and I had been unknowingly suffering from this life-threatening condition for months. When I say unknowingly, that is not 100% correct because I had been suffering in dreadful pain for a long time, it was so intense that I limped and I had great difficulty moving in bed, driving the car and straightening my leg. I had been sent home from the Emergency Department three times whilst this was going on with steroids.

I had also been to numerous doctors and all of them 'assumed' it was Crohn's disease pain. I have been living with Crohn's disease for over twenty years and I have never suffered anything quite like this. A CT scan discovered I had a 4 cm mass on my cecum (I do not have a cecum anymore as you will find out when you read on). This mass was Crohn's disease and quite frankly I did not believe any amount of drugs could get rid of it, so I suffered and prayed it would all go away. Which of course it did not.

I was suffering badly this day about one month prior to my operation

On my fourth trip to the ER over a period of about 4 months, I was finally admitted into the hospital. They did not really have a choice, I was grey in colour, I could hardly walk and the pain was obvious on my face. Later, my friends and family told me that I looked so sick and in pain and once when I had not seen my youngest daughter for a few months she did not even recognise me because I was so frail. I went from 69 kg to 56 kg in less than a year.

During this time I thought I would never be well again. I've written more about this on one of my other websites​​ - "How A Psoas Abscess Could Have Killed Me".

Once I was admitted to the ER ward, I was later transferred up to the surgical ward that night. The next morning Dr Ghaly, informed that I was having an operation this day. This news overwhelmed me and although I've had over a dozen laparoscopies for endometriosis, I've never had a major operation like I was about to have. I was wheeled down to theatre at 11.00 am, and I woke up again in recovery after 2.00 pm. I was in agony, felt nauseous, and wished I could go back under the anaesthetic.