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Has anyone had personal experience with rectovaginal fistula repair?
Ostomy & J-Pouch | Last Active: Jun 24 1:39pm | Replies (95)Comment receiving replies
I had surgery to repair a rectalvaginal fistula. I never knew I had a problem until diarrhea started spewing out of my vagina. The cause was diverticulitis that had blown a hole in my colon; however, I didn’t know until after a very long surgery. They removed 1/3 of my colon which resulted in colostomy. I went septic the next day, my heart had to be restarted and was in ICU a week. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the surgeons also severed my left utter. After I healed, all I wanted was a reversal. Instead of a reversal, 3 months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a bilateral mastectomy followed by chemo.
I went to Mayo in Jacksonville and my left kidney was full of waste. Due to my utter being severed, it couldn’t drain to my bladder. They ordered a CT scan and my left kidney was so full, not contrast could go in. So I’ve got a pouch in the front and great doctors drilled a hole in my back to my left kidney and I have a bag in the back to drain the urine from my kidney.
So here’s where I am. In 2 1/2 weeks I have a team of excellent surgeons at Mayo who are going to fix my huge hernia that encompasses my entire abdominal wall, hopefully successfully reconnect my colon and remove my left kidney as I went into renal failure due to the utter being severed. I can not wait to be free from pouches and tubes.
Oh and by the way, the fistula repair was a success. He did it robotically.
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Hope it all works out for you.
@mahoney , wow! And I just thought I had problems! Who repaired your fistula? I had 2 surgeries last year, and neither was successful. I’m tired of being chained to the toilet and going thru a box of pads a day due to this dual vaginal/anal nastiness. At this point, I would gladly travel across country if I knew someone existed who could repair this fistula. Thank you for your response.
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mahoney, I'm awed at your matter-of-fact demeanor after all these problems! It makes me feel that mine were a cakewalk in comparison, even though, like you, one system failure led to another and another....
I was happy to learn that your fistula was repaired. No one could find mine after I ceased having fecal output vaginally. Hopefully it will not re-open as I was cautioned it might. It seems like things go on and on forever but it sounds like you're tackling them one by one. I'm hoping not to have to post a "P.S" in the future. While things are not exactly the way they were before all my conditions occurred, I can handle the situation I am left with, which is steady adherence to a high-fiber diet, plenty of water and exercise daily. And a regular bedtime schedule. I'm able to eat most things if I'm careful and I am able to get out and about for a good portion of the day if I want to, as long as I have access to restrooms and don't set out too early. I wish the same for you. Keep up the fight and don't give up!