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fistula repair after colon removal

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Posted 2/6/2012 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hello, I had my colon removed laproscropic and j-pouch constructed on Dec. 15 2011, and came out of it without ilestomy. Was in hospital 12 days and came home. I made it 2 days and developed a fistula, that scared me and my husband to death and sent me back to hospital. Dec. 30th they put stoma and ile. bag on for 90 days to allow fistula and j-pouch time to heal. My problem is my stoma is recessed and I cannot keep skin around it from being severely irritated. Very painful and cannot keep a bag on for very long....been quite the nightmare with the bag seals leaking..The stoma nurses told me last week they could do nothing with it and doc needed to reverse it as soon as possible.

 

My question is...has anyone else ever had a fistula repair and could you tell me what it entails? I see my surgeon the 17th and want to ask if he can go ahead repair fistula, so ilestomy can be reversed as soon as possible. I am feeling much better, except for stoma and bag issues...I suffered with UC for 6 1/2 years and suffered perm kidney damage trying to take drugs for it. Decided no biologics for me and wanted my colon removed to beat this nasty disease...

Posted 2/6/2012 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome UK fan! That sounds awful with the recessed stoma. I wonder if people here can help you, as some folks have had a lot of problems and figured them out. Are you using a convex wafer? A convex barrier?

I have not had a fistula, but I think the type of repair you need would depend on where it is. There are a lot of different surgical techniques to repair fistulas. Here is a pamphlet that might be helpful http://www.cookmedical.com/sur/content/mmedia/SUR-BPH-FPG-EN-200803.pdf

It sounds like it's worth reading up, so you know what to ask your surgeon.

Hopefully others who know more will be along soon. I think it's worth trying out some other things w/your stoma .... seems very surprising to me to have stoma nurses just giving up. I would talk to the surgeon about that too (i.e. is there a reason why you have such a bad stoma? Was it a mistake or something anatomical?)

Glad you're feeling better, hope there's a way to get some improvement soon.
Posted 2/6/2012 1:52 PM (GMT 0)
use a convex pouch and stoma paste. the paste makes a hug difference. i had a recessed stoma as well and it always get output trapped underneath the wafer and caused leakage. pouches wouldn't last more than a couple of days.

i feel your pain.
Posted 2/7/2012 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks you guys...I am using a convex pouch with ring, have tried two piece bag and convex ring. The stoma nurses said I was doing everything they could myself and not to use paste because it contains alcohol. They marked me for stoma before first surgery and then by the time I had 2nd emergency surgery I had lost 20 lbs and the mark was still there...not sure if that had anything to do with it or not. The good news is I am drug free and don't miss going to bathroom 10-12 times daily and all the other agrravations that go along with UC..I will beat this dreadful disease:) turn
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