How do I prepare for HIPEC surgery? What can I expect after surgery?

Congratulations for qualifying for HIPEC. That is great news.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperthermic-intraperitoneal-chemotherapy/about/pac-20583315
I had mine in 2022 with cytoreductive surgery and a peritonectomy.

You will lose a lot of weight in hospital as a result of being fed intravenously while your surgery heals. The medical staff will want you to make sure you are carrying excess weight before surgery. They wanted me to drink high fat and high protein drinks which I hated!! Had to hold my nose to get them down. I wish I’d had more time to put on weight.

There’s so much to say it’s hard to choose and summarise! My hospital in Australia had me in for several information sessions before admission. You really need to attend those if available at your hospital. One of them was to teach me to put on a stoma bag just in case I needed one after surgery (luckily I didn’t).

Apart from making sure you walk lots in hospital (they’ll get you up!) in order to heal properly and quickly, before you go into hospital make sure you have everything set up so you don’t need to stretch or bend or carry heavy things. The massive cut in your abdomen from pubic bone to inbetween your breasts is the thing you’ll need to take a lot of care of. The physio will teach you how to sit up and get out of bed without stressing or opening your wound.

Pain management in hospital was fabulous.

Happy to answer any questions!

@isadora2021 very useful post..thank you ! Much of it also helps with surgery in general.

@parkerandkeenan, I hope you saw the helpful post from @isadora2021. You might also appreciate this related discussion:
- Debulking and HIPEC surgery what experiences, anyone?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/debulking-and-hipec-surgery-what-experiences-anyone/

See all HIPEC-related discussions: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/

When will you have hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery?