Rectocele surgery

Hi everyone,

My CD has been pretty well controlled - but I've been having rectal and tailbone pain and incomplete BMs as well as bladder issues. My uro-gyn has recommended a simple bladder sling (TVT) for a small bladder prolapse and also a rectocele repair for a larger posterior prolapse. (Would also have endometrial ablation at same time.) She says that it's a night or two in the hospital and then a month or more at home in recovery.

She couldn't believe I hadn't come in sooner, but to be honest I thought the symptoms were CD related and planned to discuss them with my GI at my regular appointment in August.

I'm wondering if anyone has had this surgery for rectocele with a uro-gyn (vaginal incision) rather than a colo-rectal surgeon (usually a rectal incision). I like the doctor a lot but not sure if I should go another way because of the Crohn's.

Any experiences or advice to share? I'm willing to do it, but want to minimize complications and possibility of further surgery. Thanks in advance.

Sorry no one has answered....I'd never heard of any of these surgeries before. But I'm sorry for what you're going through, and I wish you all the best with them! I hope they help and turn out well.

lost internet connection. had this surgery. impossible to type from my phone. will post when I get a connection.

Huckleberry - This is what I attempted to post when we lost Internet connection in our area. Fortunately I saved it. And again, email me if you want to discuss this more:

I had complete pelvic floor reconstruction in December of 2010. They did the surgery vaginally. I had a prolapse of the bladder, a rectocele, and intestines prolapsing on top of those two. It was impossible to urinate without physically moving body parts out of the way, and the same thing with a BM. The prolapse occurred when I was in the hospital with hemorrhagic C. diff. The 7 weeks from the time of the prolapse to the surgery were awful.

A top rated URO-GYN surgeon did my surgery. I was in the hospital two nights though they would have liked me to stay longer. They do NOT make incisions in the rectum or intestines. It is just a matter of putting everything back into place.

Prior to the event in the hospital, I always blamed my difficulties passing a solid BM on my disease or hemorrhoids. Well, after the surgery, no problems going anymore. Yipeee!

I did have a complication, actually two, one requiring a second surgery. Neither of these were the result of anything the surgeon did or did not do. Feel free to email me if you want more info.

The recovery was tough for me due to the fact I lost almost 50% of my blood volume and had transfusions but was still very anemic. That left we more weak. Also, the bleeding all went into my tissue [buttocks and thighs] making it nearly impossible to sit or lie on my back. I bled because of a previous pelvic surgery and my body had routed a vessel where it was not supposed to be. The pain was mostly from my massive bruising and the long time on the table messed with my already screwed up back.

I was not allowed to squat or lift anything over 5 pounds for 6 weeks. Also, no vacuuming. However, that might have been because my surgery required such extensive revisions.

My other complication came about 9 months later. I needed another surgery to close the top of the vaginal wall as it had eroded and left exposed mesh. This is the same mesh that the FDA has since put out a warning regarding. My issue was not the mesh but being allergic to the sutures and they had been rejected letting the opening to occur. This was the second time that I had rejected this type of suture and now carry a letter from the surgeon saying to never use it in me.

Hope this doesn't frighten you off. In spite of what happened, I am far better for having had the surgery. Getting normal function has made a big, positive difference in my life.

Just an update. Saw the doctor again today. Things seem a little less confusing. Going to have a bladder sling and also posterior prolapse repair with also some gyn surgery. Doctor now thinks it's not 6-8 week recovery, but more like 3-4 weeks out of work and a few more to feel fully better. So, that sounds more do-able. She did say that it's a painful recovery, manageable with meds. She doesn't see any reason that it will put me in a flare.

I still need to consult with gyn on the other parts of the surgery - and I am quite anemic right now so she doesn't want me to do the surgery in July - so now I know I've got awhile.

Even though this is (hard to believe) not related to Crohn's, I will post again to let you know how it's going. Thanks again for the support.

By now you may have had this surgery but I will share with you. I had a severe rectal prolapse.

The rectocele repair was not as bad as I was expecting. Pain for only about two days, easily controlled with Narcotic pain meds. Those were the worst as they affect vision, mood, etc. I only needed Ibuprofen after day two with complete pain control. Days 4 and 5 were uncomfortable until I discovered the cause, hemorrhoids. So, if you also have hemorrhoids, see if the doc can take care of those at the same time as the surgery. By day seven I had forgotten I'd even had surgery. Day 14 I found myself running, with no discomfort....forced myself to stop and remember to try to pretend I was recovering. By then I was lifting and carrying on like nothing happened.

Take stool softeners for at least two weeks, watch out for Hemorrhoids, I could have gone back to work day 7. Now it's just boring waiting for my 6 week appointment to be released for all activity. I gained 5 pounds from inactivity.
Good Luck.

Hi Huckleberry,
What are you doing for the anemia? I've never had any uro/gyn surgery so I can't help you there...just wanted to wish you good luck. I hope you are feeling ok while you are waiting until September!