Cornel Sırbu, from Romania, learned that he had colon cancer during colonoscopy examination. In operation performed, Sırbu’s large intestine was taken out of the abdomen and attached to a ‘colostomy bag’. Sırbu, who lived with ‘colostomy bag’ and had hard days, have gotten rid of the bag with the operation performed in Turkey and recovered his health.

Cornel Sırbu, who lives in Romania and works as an engineer in a private company, had a colonoscopy for routine control in 2017. During the operation, colon polyps were found in Sırbu’s large intestine. The large intestine of Cornel Sırbu, taken during the operation with the diagnosis of colon cancer, was taken out of his abdomen and attached to a ‘colostomy bag’. Sırbu, who continued his life with a ‘colostomy bag’ for three years, experienced many problems in both his work and social life. Cornel Sırbu, who came to Turkey since doctors said that his intestine could not be taken back inside his abdomen in Romania, was reborn with the operation performed by Prof. Dr Fatih Ağalar, General Surgery Specialist at Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital.

“I Had To Stay At Home”

Cornel Sırbu, pointing out that life with ‘colostomy bags’ is tough, said, “The first diagnosis was made in 2017. A few polyps were seen in the colon during the checks. The doctors decided on surgery. The part with the polyp was removed by surgery. After surgery, some part of the large intestine was taken out of the abdomen and attached to the bag. Then, chemotherapy treatments were started. Living with this bag had a negative impact on my life. I couldn’t go anywhere, and I had to stay at home. I lived with this bag for three years. I was eating less so that the bag not filled up. I could hardly attend business meetings. When I realized that the situation was not going very well, I decided to come to Turkey. Here, general surgery and oncology physicians started my treatment. When it responded positively to chemotherapy, they decided to close the colostomy bag and put the intestine inside the body. The surgery took place, and I am feeling fine right now.”

His wife Emilia Sırbu, stating that they had a challenging time, said, “when the diagnosis was made, the whole family was shocked. When he underwent an operation, nobody said to me ‘your spouse will wake up with a bag’. We were devastated when we saw the bag after the operation. One of the family had to take care of my wife. I took care of him. My spouse couldn’t spare much time for his work. We had a tough time. “

The Risk Increases As Cancer Approaches The Anus

Prof. Dr Fatih Agalar, who explained the reason for ending of such large bowel tumour surgeries with ‘colostomy bag’, stated that “as the tumour gets closer to the anus at large intestine cancers, the possibility of ending the surgery with ‘colostomy bag’ increases. The closer a tumour is to the anus, the more the patient needs for radiotherapy. Since 60 percent of patients do not undergo bag closure surgery, they end their lives with that bag. But, they need to know that they don’t have to live that way. In appropriate cases, the bags can be closed by applying particular techniques.”

Prof. Dr Fatih Ağalar, reminding that bag closure surgery is as risky as bag opening surgery, warned that “There is a risk of losing the patient in 4 percent of the operations of taking the intestine inside the body. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the bag as much as possible. If the surgery is ended with a colostomy bag, it is important to send the person to a good centre after the treatment.”

Requires Specific Surgery

Yeditepe University Hospital General Surgery Specialist, Prof. Dr Fatih Ağalar, who said “The closure of Colostomy may not be done in every person who has undergone a colostomy opening. Some colostomies are permanent”, continued his speech as follows: “Sometimes, surgeons may also have difficulty in the closure of colostomies that are opened compulsorily in also non-cancerous colon diseases. It is also appropriate to send these patients to advanced centers. These surgeries are exceptional and not to be considered as easy.”

Finally, Prof. Dr Fatih Ağalar, who drew attention to large intestine cancer, said, “Cancer risk is minimized when 90 percent benign polyp is removed. If it is diagnosed early, it can be treated successfully at a high rate. Therefore, anyone who turns 45 should have a screening colonoscopy. The second screening should be ten years later if the colonoscopy is going well. The presence of colon cancer in the family also plays a role in the frequency of colonoscopy.”