I developed an rv fistula in 2019, which took a while to get diagnosed. Repairs were attempted before my surgeon wanted to divert to a stoma to give the best chance of repair. This was right before covid hit so surgeries were cancelled and pushed back. I finally had a Martius flap repair earlier this year, where they take a fat pad from the labia and weave it into the fistula. A contrast X-ray showed all was well and I was given the okay for takedown. I wasn’t 100% sure if the success and asked the dr that did my pre op (not my surgeon) if they could check whilst I was under. I woke up without the stoma so believed they must have been certain.

im now 4 weeks post and am pretty certain it’s either still there or there’s another fistula. It’s soul destroying, I feel like I’m back at square minus one because at least I had a functioning pouch back then. I feel so down.

thanks for reading

claire