Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Rectovaginal Fistula

I have gone thru surgery after having rectovaginal fistula after the birth of my baby(first).Now she is 17 months old.I am fealing healthy.some time gas comes out of vagina and after every bowl movement smal amount of stool which is very small in amount or i must say small particles of stool comes out of vagina.Which I immediately feel and go to rest room and wash it out and after that my whole day is normal I dont feel any problem.But I am phycologicaly very disturbed that is it a muscle weekning or is their small opening still remained unhealed.This thinking depressed me a lot.Should i go for checkup or it will be healed with time or is it dangerous may cause any infection.Please tell if any one can help.

amazy
8 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I too have a RVF with two failed surgeries.  I know this string is old but if ladies find it while searching on line, please seek out the facebook group, Living with Obstetric Fistula.  The support is amazing.  To date there are 181 one of us in developed countries.  I'm confident there are many more and this is more "common" than doctors would have us believe.  It's not a reported illness and considered to happen only in developing counties.  Please find the group, it's private so your friend don't have to know you're in it.  Best to you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
So sorry to hear of your problems. It took me 5 years to find a doctor to understand that I had a fistula because they are so hard to diagnois and the condition is apparently somewhat rare, at least in the area in which I live.  My gynocologist got in my face and treated me like I was so stupid because I wouldn't agree with him that "I did not have a fistula in my vagina". I KNEW what was going on with my body!  I am 51 years old and it was 20 years after the birth of my second child before my fistula broke through.  I had much tearing and 26 stitches at childbirth.  The stitches got infected and then I had an allergic reaction to the medication I was given.  This, in combination with gastric problems, has caused me so much distress thru this all.  I am now on my 11th doctor/surgeon.  He will attempt my 4th surgery to close the fistula and I pray to God this one works!  It still amazes me that SO many doctors are so ignorant of this condition.  Medicine is "fact based" and if THEY can't SEE it, they assume it's not there.  Stick to your guns and MAKE them listen to you. Then find a surgeon who has successfully repaired MANY of these fistulas.  I've tried the gyno and recto approach and since the gastric problems are what keeps this from healing, I've gone back to the recto approach and a more experienced surgeon.  They will always try the most simple approach to fix the problem first... however, I feel that they should try the most likely to WORK approach BEFORE they destroy all the tissue and have to do grafts and bypass the colon.  There needs to be MUCH more training and knowledge about this problem for our physicians so it will not lead the patients to the depression and other problems associated with it.  It HAS to be repaired.  You can't live your life in today's active world with this problem without just being a hermit and staying home away from people.  It also distroys your sex life.  What man wants to have sex with his wife when she has feces in her vagina?  And how sexy can you feel under those conditions?  I pray that you get the "right" doctor to help you because there are so many out there who are content to experiment on you.  It's just a surgery to them but it's your LIFE!  Take control, research, and demand that you get the results you need.  Good Luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am also 34 years old and got diagnosed at age 14, after delivering my son 6 years ago by c-section. I immediatily started to feel sick with pain. It took a year for m GI to figure out that i developed a retrovaginal fistula.
After a year of being on cipro,  I stated remicade every 12 weeks then after 3 years on remicade I started to go down to every 4 weeks.  I knew the remicade wasnt going to work anymore.  I decided to get a ileostomy to give my pouch a rest and the sergeon put a flap over the fistula and remove some inflamation on my rectum.  I dont have my large intestant, I removed it all when i was 18, 1993.  due to ulcertive colitis. so having the fistula i had to give my pouch a rest with the ileostomy.  I had tthe illeostomy for 8 months then the surgeon decided to reconnect me becasuse i wasnt having symtoms and the mri didnt show the fistula.  After getting reconnected back in nov i was good for about a week then started to feel something funny going on where the fistula was. I thought i was just recovering but the fistula came back slowly and after a month it was back worst then before.  now i am having drainage of pus through my vaginia which that wasnt happening before the surgery.  Now i am very depressed about this.  I dont know if it was to soon to remove the ileostomy.  but i am not going back on remicade and i am afraid of getting the illeostomy again.  if anyone has any suggestions on what i should try next, i am open to oppinions.  Thanks ,dity
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had Crohn's Disease since age 14. I'm 34 and am having a proctoloectomy in 2 weeks ( removal of large intestine, rectum, anus) and currently have an ileostomy. I have had the ileostomy for 18 months or so and have been doing okay w/it. However, I had two fistulas prior to getting the ileostomy, one of them being rectovaginal. That was part of why I decided to ahve the ileostomy. I was getting UTI's all the time and was in pain, not to mention it was gross. If I had to go to the bathroom, everything would start coming out the fistula first since it's the first opening along the way, instead of going out of my rear end. So, now that I'm diverted with the ileostomy, i rarely have anything come out of it. However, it's still active on occasion--the only difference is now there's only light drainage now and no fecal matter. I'm being told that having my large intestine out will allow for me to have the fistulas heal and no more drainage. They never healed before now and the seton placement didn't work for me. I was very discouraged. The ileostomy helped for sure. I'm so nervous about the surgery though because I don't know what to expect. Weight loss, healing trouble w/the incision? I was very thin when I had hte ileostomy, but have since put some weight back on after being able to eat again with the ileostomy, but don't know how much weight I'll lose iwth this surgery. If i'll be able to eat the same or be easily dehydrated.

Let me know if anyone out there has any similar experience with the ileostomy and the large intestine removal.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I also have a rectovaginal fistula caused by Crohns. My GI doc upped my dose of Remicade to every 4 weeks at the highest possible dosage. It didn't help. He sent me to a surgeon. The surgeon looked in both the anus and the vagina and claimed he saw no opening. I have air and stool passing through, so I know it's there. My GI just scoped me and also said he saw nothing, but to stay on the increased dose of Remicade. I have even told them exactly where it is... because I can see stool on the last 1/4 inch of a tampon when I have my period. I feel as if they don't believe me....and their wait and see approach isn't working. I don't particularly want surgery, but I would like this to stop. What exactly were the surgeries you have had? What kind of recovery time did you face?
It was my understanding that a seton was not a viable treatment for rectovaginal fistula.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, im new here, ive been looking everywhere for some support or information, I gave birth to my son may08 i suffered a 4th degree tear, i had an infection and recieved extreme bad aftercare by the hospital, which resulted in a rectrovaginal fistula developing.I had a seton put in place, I am currently recovering from my operation which i had nov08, i had the fistula repair, anterior anal repair and a temp ileostomy installed. I want to know, is there anyone out there like me ???

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
keep me updated on how your are
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You need to go to the doctor, right now.  The fistula might not have healed the whole way,  Mine did that and I had to have 4 surguires to fix it.  Go see the doctor Please
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Crohn's Disease / Ulcerative Colitis Community

Top Digestive Answerers
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Learn which OTC medications can help relieve your digestive troubles.
Is a gluten-free diet right for you?
Discover common causes of and remedies for heartburn.
This common yet mysterious bowel condition plagues millions of Americans
Don't get burned again. Banish nighttime heartburn with these quick tips
Get answers to your top questions about this pervasive digestive problem