Hi,
Last Tuesday night I noticed a lump under the pelvic/pubic incision line, which I thought was a hernia. Over the course of the week it became redder and more painful. The GP gave me antibiotics because he thought it was an infection, but I found out today from my surgeon that he gave me an intentional mucous fistula. I'd never heard of it, and I'm four months post-op, so it would have been nice to know that at some point my incision would slowly bust open and bleed. My surgeon said that I it he attached the top of my rectal stump to the inside of the incision and that it is meant to make a few tiny holes and ooze after about two weeks post-op. Obviously mine is very late and it is now pretty much an open wound. I'm calling him tomorrow to see if it is meant to be this open. Has anyone here had one? It is extremely frustrating that such a major thing was never mentioned to me. I have only just started to get into the routine and get a bit efficient with the ileosto my bag and now I've got this to deal with too. How do you manage it? Mine has bled quite a lot. The surgeon told me that a women's pad should be fine and to just put one in my underwear to absorb the blood and mucous, but five minutes after my shower it was already soaked through so I've had to put another ostomy bag over it. I struggled quite a bit with coming to terms with having an ileostomy, and now having an open wound in my abdomen feels like going right back to the beginning again.
Thanks,
Hamish
