I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in October of 2006. Before the diagnosis I had 5 kidney stones and my gallbladder removed. It has been a year and a half since I was on predinosone and I have been to a specialist who recognized the rectal prolapse symptoms which I have had for at least since 2004. The surgery that would cure this removes the whole colon and use part of the small intestine to make a shorter colon that would then be attached to the rectum. The problem is that my rectum is scarred and swollen and sliding out. My colonoscopy shows that the colitis is in remission except for the rectal area. I want to remove the diseased part and keep the rest of the colon intact to see if it will heal. The doctor is worried that if I do this that later on I might need to remove the whole colon later and that the rectum will be too scarred. It is already scarred. He tells me the surgery would be painful. What, I am already in pain! Do you know of anyone else who has had a similar problem? Are there any specialists that have dealt with this problem? What if the rectum ruptures?
Q: I have U C with rectal prolapse how can I get the care I need.
Hi Cynthia,
I'm sorry to hear about these problems. It sounds like you need to get a 2nd, and possibly a 3rd opinion about your situation. You may find that you get two or three different answers, or you may find the doctors have a concensus on what is the best course of treatment for you.
In either case I think you are doing the due diligence on research that is important before having any sort of non-emergency surgery. However, I wouldn't delay in getting these other consults in case there is the chance that further damage is being done to your rectum.
Best of luck to you,
Elizabeth
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I saw three different doctors/sugreons and made the difficult decision to have a total colectomy. It was the only way to cure the colitis and to end the terrible pain I was in for hours after each bowel movement. This surgery is the last option available to those with ulcerative colitis. I could either to keep taking medication that barely kept the colitis from flaring up or to have surgery. Since my colon was full of scar tissue, and scar tissue doesn't heal, it was impractible to remove a portion of it. The active area of the colitis was in the rectum so I opted to have a total colectomy. I didn't see any point in leaving the worst part intact; also the rectal tissue was abnormal I didn't want to take the chance of it developing into rectal cancer either. According to the pathology report it was all colitis. Now, I don't have to take the immune suppressant drugs anymore and I am feeling much better. My eye sight has improved one point after stoping those medications. I am not in pain like I was when I wrote my first post. I have an ileostoma and wear an ostomy pouch. it took a good six weeks to heal from the surgery. I hope letting you know about my decision wil help others who may have similar problems.