So I just wanted to throw this out there and let people tell me why it won't work because I'm sure it won't, I just don't know why. My boyfriend thinks that he has come up with the solution for people that suffer from incontinence, not due to diseased colons but perhaps from nerve damage or old age. So the plumbing is healthy, the person just can't feel or control when they have to go...I guess.

He says they should be able to surgically insert a valve in the anus that could be opened/closed as often as needed. I guess it would be sort of like turning on/off a faucet. This way people could periodically empty but not be plagued with soiling themselves because they can't feel when they have to go.

So please, anyone shoot this theory down but tell me why it's medically not possible. I couldn't give him any good reason. Because if it would work, why haven't they done it yet?

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this is possible and it is what an artificial sphincter will do for someone. You have to have a healthy rectum though I think.

I will pass this along to Jan Dollar...but I always thought that any artificial device in the gut will not be compatible with surrounding tissue.

The BCIR folks in the old days tried a plastic collar around the base of the K-pouch valve and they did not work -- and had to be removed.

I think if it was possible it could come in very handy sometimes

Here is a bit on the artificial sphincter from Medline.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003983.htm

Yes, I have posted numerous times about the artificial sphincter. It is predominantly used for urinary incontinence, but there is one in production for fecal incontinence also. At first they used the urinary sphincter, but it was not adequate and a modified model was created. Still, it is not a perfect solution and the failure rate is 50% in some studies. There are other emerging treatments such as sacral root stimulation and the Secca procedure, which do not involve surgery. Also, a procedure called graciloplasty uses a muscle from the leg and wraps it around the weakened sphincter, avoiding any foreign body rejection reaction. Yet another new option is injectable bulking agents to provide more pressure from a weak sphincter.

I am not sure if it is because the artificial sphincter is relatively new and not widely used or if it is because of the not-so-great success record that it generally is not suggested to folks with an ileoanal pouch with incontinence. However, I would tend to think that the bigger issue is the lack of an intact rectum, prior surgery with its likely adhesions, and the high risk of infection. Plus, for those of us with IBD, if there is any perianal disease, that would probably definitely be a contraindication. But, still, I just cannot find definitive literature out there about it. This article is pretty comprehensive.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1420843

Jan

I think it's mainly used for colon cancer people. I actually met someone in the hospital who had it done. Unfortunately she was in the 50 percent that failed due to infection.

By the way, no theories are stupid!

Lori