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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Are Loose Motions Normal, After Partial Removal And Re-sectioning Of The Small Intestine?

I had 10 inches of my small intestine removed because of carcinoid cancer. Two healthy sections of the small intestine were then "resectioned". After 12 weeks, I still have a degree of loose bowel problems. Is this normal or highly unusual? I am 77 yeARS OLD....
Fri, 21 Apr 2017
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
I totally understand your concerns about your loose stools.
The following points should be taken into consideration :
1- the resection of part of your small intestines will definitely cause some loose stool and this a very common in the post-operative period. However since you had the surgery done twice then it is essential to know how much of your small intestine is left in place because there is an entity called : short bowel syndrome , it is when the bowel is less than 2 m and it mainly present with diarrhea, malabsorption, weight loss, foul smelling stool. If this is the case anti-diarrhea medication can be used such as loperamide, vitamin supplementation will also essential in such case.

2- sometimes, in around 30% of cases, carcinoid tumor in the intestines can co-exist with multiple other locations of carcinoid tumor in other locations in the gut, and hence it is essential to make sure that all your carcinoid tumors were removed. because one of the main symptoms of carcinoid tumor is diarrhea.

If no pathology responsible for your diarrhea is detected then anti-diarrhea medications should be used.
Best Regards
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Are Loose Motions Normal, After Partial Removal And Re-sectioning Of The Small Intestine?

I totally understand your concerns about your loose stools. The following points should be taken into consideration : 1- the resection of part of your small intestines will definitely cause some loose stool and this a very common in the post-operative period. However since you had the surgery done twice then it is essential to know how much of your small intestine is left in place because there is an entity called : short bowel syndrome , it is when the bowel is less than 2 m and it mainly present with diarrhea, malabsorption, weight loss, foul smelling stool. If this is the case anti-diarrhea medication can be used such as loperamide, vitamin supplementation will also essential in such case. 2- sometimes, in around 30% of cases, carcinoid tumor in the intestines can co-exist with multiple other locations of carcinoid tumor in other locations in the gut, and hence it is essential to make sure that all your carcinoid tumors were removed. because one of the main symptoms of carcinoid tumor is diarrhea. If no pathology responsible for your diarrhea is detected then anti-diarrhea medications should be used. Best Regards