Sphinter repair with interslim

Do you mean Interstim?
http://www.medtronic.eu/your-h...ce/surgery/index.htm

Jan

My sphioncter was damaged after an anal fistula surgery, and the sphincter repair was "successful" in the sphincter was now intact, but my tone was low and still had major incontinence.

I also developed chronic pouchitis, which got me to Mayo CLinic and a chance to talk about my incontinence options.

I got the Interstim 2 years ago, but at the time my pouchitis was still not well managed and thus even with maximum stool thickeners, the interstim made little difference.

Now that my pouchitis is well managed with drugs, I can diffinitiely say that the spinal chord stimulator has definately improved my continece. Previously (when I had incontinence but not pouchitis, and WAS using stool thickening meds) I still couldn't walk for more than 10 minutes without having incontinence. Now with the addition of the SCS I ran/walked my first 5K last fall. I do a half hour of fast walking n the treadmil several times/week and I usually am without incident.

To get this approved by my insurance I had to demonstrate that I had done biofeedback and it hadn't helped (and ironically they wouldn't pay for that, so had to pay out of pocket). Then there is a diary and then a trial. You have to show a 50% improvement between your baseline and the trial before insurance would approve it.

Upsides are I have improved functionality.
Also, at first I thought it would be a real hassle going through airport screening and other detectors, but the main risk of going thru an xray machine is it MAY turn the device off. I have found that it doesn't turn my device off so now I do all airport screenings as usual.

Downsides are it is 2 surgery process, I can feel it through my upper buttcheek skin, if I sit on it funny it will cause pain (like if I am slouched leaning against the wall in bed or sitting on the couch with my knees up, and leaning my wieght on my arm, and it can take a day or 2 for that pain to go away. Also I have to carry the controller unit with me in case of an emergency (I have never had an emergency, but in case it were to go haywire, I would want to be able to turn it off). Battery only lasts about 5 years, so will be another surgery then to replace it, but rep thought by then they might have a way to recharge the battery without a second surgery. Other major downside is you can't have an MRI with an implanted medical device. I put a notation about this on my drivers licence just in case I am ever unconscious in the ER. If I had a severe/serious illness where I really needed an MRI, I suppose it could be removed. In the meantime the alternative is CAT, PET or xrays.

If you have a Dr who thinks you are a candidate, know that it can work. I met someone else on this board who got it a few weeks ahead of me and it also worked for her. If the alternative is giving up your pouch it may be worth a try. Know that it will not work well on liquid stool, so if you are not already thickening your stool (which you probably are if struggling with j pouch and incontinence) you will likely need to do that in conjunction with the SCS.

Good luck!

Hi Lucy,
Im still really new to this, so sorry in advance if i ask something silly :/ ive currently got an ileostomy which i was hoping to reverse but after seeing my surgeon i was told that my anal sphincter muscles are far to weak and that the muscle itself has changed from a normal circular shape to a U shape due to childbirth, hes sent me for an ultrasound, biofeedack, and a flexi sig to see how things are going i guess, did you go through all of this? and also did you try EMS? I was told by my womens health pysio that my pelvic floor is so weak and that this could help, but i havent tried it yet.

Hey Sally, I just had the sphincter repair done on may 2nd so far so good! I am still in hospital it's 6 days know and they said all went well. I have a pinrose in place for drainage and they were to remove it yesterday but unfortunately the dr did not pass to do so. The worry is the stitches letting go due to execive discharge, that is caused by diversion pouchitis or is it really just severe pouchitis. I am afraid of this because I only complained oh heavy discharge for 18 months. Sadly I Stayed a very long time not treating it, and so I'm worried I hope that this doesn't complicate things. I just can't deal with anymore complications!

The question is for JJA, it's been two weeks since sphincter repair and well stitches have let go after a week. Dr. Said this often occurs. What I was wondering is it normal to feel a heaviness down below? How long before it heals? The fact that I still have pouchitis is not helping, I am waiting for biopsie report, to find out if it is diversion pouchitis or not. The dischard is less then it was before, they switched me to doxycycline instead of flagyl n cipro it was making me very sick.
I am still struggling with my energy and appetite but the flagyl wasn't helping.
How long before they installed the interslim?
How long did you wait for the reconection??
There wasn't anyone they could of referred me to in my area so I am hoping someone can help?