Has anyone had success with repairing colon vaginal fistula?

Hi, @ann54 .
I had a rectovaginal fistula due to radiotherapy. When I looked at the scientific publications about fistula repair, they were mainly about fistulas due to a traumatic vaginal birth or just for some unknown reason but with normal tissue. Even in those cases, recurrence was fairly frequent.
When I consulted with my first colorectal surgeon, she said doing a simple rectal flap would be useless because there was over a 50% chance of recurrence because of the necrotized tissue of the radiation. She suggested doing a flap with a temporary colostomy, reducing the risk of recurrence to 25-30%; she claimed--supposedly after consulting with a gynecologist--that nothing had to be done on the vaginal side. I was not convinced.
Consulting with two more surgeons they concurred with the high risk of recurrence. Both said I needed a new colonoscopy first to have a clear appreciation of the state of my rectum and even passing the camera through the fistula to see its state and the vaginal side. Well, it happened that the colonoscopy revealed a new polyp facing the fistula. Surgeon #2 and his team and surgeon #3 said there was only one option in that case, something radical: taking out the rectum. I ended up with a complete low anterior resection (rectum, mesorectum and sigmoid), including resection of the fistula and vaginal repair. The risk of a new fistula appearing is now the same as for anyone else.
Are you in a similar case? What were the 2 surgeries you had before?

@ann54, I hope you saw @verol65's helpful post. You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Has anyone had personal experience with rectovaginal fistula repair?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-had-personal-experience-with-recto-vaginal-fistula-repair/