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I need information on healing a fistula.

Hatshepsut's picture
Posts: 340
Joined: Nov 2006

Help me!

Has anyone here suffered from a post-surgical fistula (enterocutaneous fistula) or know anyone who has had one?

My husband is trying to heal from his recent surgery and the subsequent intestinal fistula that developed. It is a tough road. He is on a wound vac and no food or water program. Because of the location of his abdominal incision, we're having a good deal of trouble with the wound vac maintaining a seal. And, generally speaking, I'm having trouble simply getting information about how fistulas behave and heal.

Thank you in advance.


KATE58's picture
Posts: 300
Joined: Nov 2009

i personally have not any experience with fistulas,
but I have a friend whose son has them.from what she has told me they are hard to predict how they will behave or heal.
somtimes they close and heal on their own.
sometimes they need to be surgically corrected
sometimes they get infected.
sometimes new ones form.
her son was born with a condition where his large colon and rectum did not connect.
he had a colostomy done at birth then that was repaired and his colon and rectum connected when he was 2yrs old.
when he was 12 he had fistulas form and needed another colostomy,until they got the fistulas healed.
now in his twentys he has them again and they have been trying to get them to heal on their own,but it looks like he needs surgery to fix them.
His situation may be totally different than your husbands,since his was congenital,
this is all I know maybe some one on the board has had personal experience and can give you a better outlook.
hasn't his doctors been able to give you detailed information?
I looked it up in my harvard medical book,and all it said is they can be common with
chrohns disease,ulcerative colitis ,anal,colorectal cancer, said how they form,
but gave no info on why they form or how to heal them ????
maybe you should talk to a doctor who is an expert on chrohns disease.
sorry I could not be of any help.
i will pray for him

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