UOAA Discussion Board

Hi

My 14 year old son just had Colostomy Reversal surgery about 5 weeks ago. During the surgery, the doctors found that he is missing his sphinctor muscle, but the surgeon wants him to go to therapy to learn how to use the rectum muscles to have continence control. At the moment, my son is still in lots of pain and is discouraged because of no continence control. Is there anyone out there who has a similar situation? What is your experience with this condition and do you think it is a workable idea? Thanks- your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Steve,
I don't know if this info helps or not, but I can tell you our experience. My son is 11 and his internal sphincter muscle operates at about 2%, which is basically nothing. He is able to control the stool during the day as long as he doesn't wait too long or is not sick. When he is in a flare, he loses control. Also, he doesn't have good control at night. I'm assuming that it is his external sphincter muscles doing most of the work.
Good luck