UOAA Discussion Board

Hi everyone, I’m waiting for surgery to be scheduled in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I had colorectal cancer in 2007 and went through the usual radiation, surgery and chemo. After that I lived with the various issues and put off a colostomy until I came close to dying in 2014. When the colostomy was done, my surgeon didn’t take out the rectum and sew the anus shut because the area was in terrible shape due to the radiation performed. I have had constant bloody discharge since the colostomy, but have found anal pads work fairly well. After the last year of particularly bad discharge and odor, I finally went back in to see the surgeon again. He told me right away that I had an infection, as he could smell it. Once again, my wife’s sense of smell was correct . After testing and antibiotics, I went through a flexible sigmoidoscopy and the pictures were just as bad as they were in 2014. If I understand this whole thing right, the surgeon plans to have a plastic surgeon on hand to do a skin graft to make a flap to close the anus, as he doesn’t think the radiated skin will be able to be sewn shut. In fact, if the whole area is as bad as he thinks, he may put in wound drains (?) for a month or so before finishing the surgery. If I’m lucky, they will go in through the anus and do everything, if my luck doesn’t hold, they will open me up and do the procedure that way.

Has anyone else had to have a flap made? I’ve been told 6-8 weeks of no activity, but am gearing myself up for this in the hopes the surgery will clear out the radiated area and get rid of the discharge and chronic infections I’ve dealt with. I don’t know if the pain will be worse because of the flap and skin grafting, but hopefully this will be the way to go to clear up the problem.

AZBaywatch
Colorectal cancer 2007
Colostomy 2014

Hi Az,
Sorry to hear that you are going through all of this. Radiation is pretty brutal to human tissue. Putting it back together can be tricky. A skin graft doesn't sound like a bad plan. Skin grafts help cover up areas that would otherwise be very difficult to heal on their own, and help provide a barrier to prevent further infection. If you want, I can go into details about the skin graft as I have seen them performed for burn victims. The actual skin graft, pain/discomfort wise, will be minimal to the pain/discomfort from the actual anus and rectum being removed. Having those removed, for me, was the most challenging part of the recovery. I couldn't sit up right in a chair for several weeks. I spent most of my time in a recliner... The skin graft donor site will feel like a burn for a little while, but should heal pretty quickly. I was pretty young when I had my APR, and I felt that I wouldn't need the 8 weeks the surgeon said that I would need to recover. I was wrong. I took every bit of the 8 weeks, and then slowly started resuming normal activities. It will be a marathon, not a sprint. Everyone is unique, so you may not experience what I experienced. Hope that helps some.

David

Thanks for the info David! After a few scheduling problems, I met with the second doctor about the skin graft. Turns out it may not be an option depending on some prior surgeries that were done during my cancer treatment. Consequently am on hold regarding surgery. In the meantime, he recommended hyperbaric oxygen therapy (20) two hour treatments. Decided to try it, as you never know what will make enough of a change in the body to help.

Azbaywatch