i have afap, recommended surgery by gastroenterologist was total colon and rectum removal, creating a jpouch, surgeon however said because only a few polyps in rectum he would rather leave 16 cm of rectum intact, said i will need it removed later, but could be 5 yrs from now, or polyps might not come back. should i have gone with my gastro.. opinion instead or does it matter whether they leave the rectal muscle or 16 cm of rectum in. he said i will still need yearly tests to stay cancer free, was this a mistake on my part, i had the final say on it...? surgery is subtotal colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis. that is removing all of my colon ..last question what kind of things can i expect post surgery, surgeon says 3-4 soft bowel movements a day? and can eat what i want.? is this true?
You have to undergo colectomy depending on your polyps' status of rectum there may be need of removal of rectum. If you don't want to remove rectum the nit may have serious implications, like disease recurrence in rectum. There may be some discomfort for you, but that is life-saving.