The risk of Fistula

[bob22312]

My 13 year old diagnosed with Cronhes in June 12 was found to have a painful fistula in Sept.
Surgery was performed to flush and drain the Fistula. Several drains were removed after several week or month. However, drains had to be re-installed
to support the drainage.
Is this a typical treatment sceanario for a satifacory outcome or this fistula growing in some other area that requires a more extensive work up?

 

[Angrybird]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I have thankfully not had any problems with fistula's myself so could not advise on this, we do however have a sub forum for these that is worth having a look at as the folks here may be able to help: http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76. Out of interest what meds is your child on? Is the tum otherwise settled?

AB
xx

 

[Clash]

I don't have experience with my son having fistulas but I'm going to tag Sascot and Dodie as both of their boys have dealt with fistulas I believe.

 

[bob22312]

I am new to Crohn's and only recently started atttending the Support group in Fairfax, VA. Thank you all for responding

 

[Sascot]

Hi and welcome. My son has been dealing with a peri-anal fistula for almost a year. Our surgeons seem very reluctant to operate at all on Crohn's patients as they say they do not heal as easily. We had 3 months of a load of different antibiotics before I demanded they do something as my son was still in so much pain. Is your son on antibiotics to help the fistula heal? Flagyl is the main one they use as it is also anti-inflammatory. I would imagine if your son's fistula is flaring up again it would be worth asking for if he isn't already on it. Our surgeon said it can take up to a year to fully heal. Good luck.

 

[bob22312]

Thanks for responding Grandson was diagnosed in June and was treated for an anal fistula in Sept. Falgel(sp) is the anti biotic. He has problens with the texture of food in his mouth and appears to be losing wieght. Recently the dripping has almost dried up. However I don't believe the fistula has dried up and healed just yet.
His doctor recommended Remicade several months ago and again this past Monday.
How is remicade accepted in your part of the world?
Thanks for your post

 

[MysterySam]

Hey! I've had fistulas. The situation was pretty bad... Then i started to go for Remidcade treatment, and by this date i've gotten rid of the fistulas. I dont think it helps everyone but it is worth a chat with doctor. Remicade is very powerful drug, it has side-effects and it is not suitable for everyone. To me, it brings help to daily life as a crohnie.

 

[bob22312]

Hi Sam Thanks for responding to my post!
The side effects from Remicade seem to vary from a dry cough to Lymphoma and MS. My cousin's life was saved with Remicade several years ago. However, my good friend on 57 years lost 30 pounds last year from ulcerative colitis and had improvement after the first Remicade infusion. Unfortunately 3 weeks after the 2nd infusion he was rushed to the hospital where he died on 13 Dec12 complaining of stomach pains.
Has anyone got any ideas regarding the precursors in a patient before Remicade infusion that leads to their demise?
I know I have asked an impossible question for anyone to be able to answer!

 

[MysterySam]

Hey! Im sorry to hear about your friends death ;(
English is not my motherlanguage, so im not sure if i understood everything correctly, but there are some things that they check out at the hospital when you start getting Remicade. Alot of bloodtests and stool samples. They check your liver, that is one important organ that Remi can affect ALOT. I'm being monitored all the time, and i've been getting these infusions for over two years. Remicade may or may not have its part in your friends death, it could also be something caused by his IBD, or basically anything. The stomach pain hints towards IBD. We cant know. It is true that Remicade has its up's and downs... These things... They are tough... I hope you understand what i mean in this post.