Question:
What is a fistula?
How do you know you have one? Symptoms?? I am hungry all the time too. I was transected though. Could I have one? I also have a large "poked out" place on one side of my tummy tucked stomach(TT/2004). NOOO pain at all, just poked out where I had a hernia removed in Nov. 2003. Could it be back??!?? Open GBS June 2003, Hernia surgery Nov. 2003. TT, Nov. 2004. Doing well except severe arthritis in left top foot. Thanks, Kathy.....295/165/190 and on Nutisystem and 5 days per week of Leslie Sansone 2 mile walking cd — Kathy R. (posted on January 27, 2008)
January 27, 2008
Kathy, to put it simply a fistula is a hole. At least that is how it was
explained to me. They can be anyplace, but in our case it would be in the
area of the prior surgery. Dr. said mine was caused when old stomach and
pouch gravitated together and began rubbing until it caused the opening.
All my food was emptying in to big stomach. He said my original surgeon
should have placed a layer of fat between the 2 stomachs to prevent this,
Lord knows I had plenty to spare, and thats what he did. I knew something
was wrong because of the pain/ pressure and hunger, resulting in weight
gain. Most of the time I could ignore it or swig Mylanta but it got to the
point where I was getting worried. So I went to a new doctor, had a upper
GI and ultra sound which showed a fistule, hole, the size of a half dollar.
So glad it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed.
— Tawnda C.
January 27, 2008
By the way, it sounds like your "poked out" place could be scar
tissue since it isn't a hernia. Just in case be sure to have it checked
out.
— Tawnda C.
February 5, 2008
I am sorry that I just got around to reading your question and I see that
no one gave you a detail answer. I had a fistula several years ago and it
had nothing to do with RNY WLS. I will give you the folloing details so
you can put you can for yourself rule out your symptoms. Intestinal
fistulas are tubular connections between the bowel and other organs or the
skin. Fistulas form when inflammation extends through all of the layers of
the bowel and then proceeds to tunnel through the layers of other tissues.
Accordingly, fistulas are much more common in Crohn's disease. Fistulas
often are multiple. They may connect the bowel to other loops of the bowel
(enteroenteric fistulas), to the abdominal wall to the skin around the
anus and to other internal locations such as the urinary bladder, vagina,
muscles, and scrotum.
Some fistulas, especially those that connect adjacent loops of bowel, may
not cause significant symptoms. Other fistulas, however, can cause
significant abdominal pain and external drainage, or create a bypass of a
large segment of intestine. Such a bypass can occur when a fistula connects
one part of the bowel to another part that is further down the intestinal
tract. The fistula thereby creates a new route for the intestinal contents.
This new route bypasses the segment of intestine between the fistula's
upper and lower connections to the intestine. Sometimes, fistulas can open
and close sporadically and unevenly. Thus, for example, the outside of a
fistula might heal before the inside of the fistula. Should this occur, the
bowel contents can accumulate in the fistulous tract and result in a pocket
of infection and pus (abscess). An abscess may be quite painful and can be
dangerous, especially if the infection spreads to the bloodstream.
— William (Bill) wmil
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