Sounds like good and bad news. Unfortunately, mesh complications are fairly common. Removing mesh is a challenge because of the imbedded scar tissue. Hopefully, it is not that big of a deal in your case.

Jan

what is the mesh for? did you have a hernia repaired? how long have you had this?

Jan, I was back at CC this past week and discussed the surgery with Dr. Jeremy Lipman a colorectal surgeon. I had a fistulagram done that showed that the fistula was not connected to the j-pouch but the small intestine. Dr. David Krpata (who I also met with) would do the mesh removal and Dr. Lipman would deal with the fistula with a possible bowel resection and temporary (hopefully not permanent) ileostomy. 

Pouchomarx, Yes I had an incisional hernia below my navel related to the j-pouch surgery. The mesh repair was about 7 years ago. While it would be unfair to blame my problems (I also had a badly infected abscess after the first surgery) on my original surgeon, I feel like I would have had a better outcome if I'd sought out the advice of CC doctors in the first place. Instead of questioning, I took the advice of my regular doctors. 

I had all my surgeries at CCF and Dr Krpta was the one that did my hernia repair with mesh at my old ileostomy site just over a year ago.

so are you/they thinking that the mesh caused the infection which led to the fistula? how soon after the mesh repair did you notice issues? or do you think this was all caused from the infected abcess? .. I know Dr Shen was not happy that I got a mesh repair for my hernia but I also knew the success rate without mesh is very low and I wanted to minimize my chances of further surgeries

The mesh has not been a problem for 7 years, at least that I was aware of, until the fistula appeared quite rapidly, about 6 weeks ago. Dr. Shen thinks that it is due to the infected mesh and the pouch abscess is a separate issue. (Correct, Dr Shen does not seem to like mesh.) I have also been on Azathioprine and before that prednisone for other auto-immune problems. These drugs may have lowered my resistance to problems with the mesh. 

When I have the mesh removed, I don't know what prevents another hernia. Anyone have thoughts on that?

Richard

Well, hopefully enough time has passed for signifigant scarring to develop so that the abdominal wall will have enough strength to hold together without the mesh. For me, the incisional hernia was not much of a surprise after prolonged illness with UC and nutritional deficits. Plus I was on high dose steroids at the time of colectomy. My mesh repair was 21 years ago. So far, so good.

Jan