Rectal and anus removal

Welcome to the online community, the place everyone wants to avoid joining and I'm sorry to hear about your husband.

If your question was asked because your husband only had a colostomy it would be relatively easy to give you an answer but with the addition of the anus and rectum removal this information may not fit the bill

Mucus discharge from the bottom.

Mucus is produced by the lining of the bowel to help the passage of stools.

The lining of the bowel continues producing mucus, even though it no longer serves any purpose. The longer the remaining section of your bowel, the more likely you are to have rectal discharge.

The mucus can vary, from a clear "egg white" to a sticky, glue-like consistency. It can either leak out of your bottom or build up into a ball, which can become uncomfortable.

Some people have rectal discharge every few weeks, while others have several episodes a day.

Contact your GP if there's blood or pus in the discharge – it maybe a sign of infection or tissue damage.

Managing the discharge

You may find it helps if you sit on the toilet every day and push down as if passing a stool. This should remove any mucus and stop it building into a ball.

Most of the above has been lifted from NHS information "Colostomy Complications"

But as your husband has also had his rectum and anus removed I'm going to ask my friend to join us in this conversation hopefully she might have some further input for us. 

With regard to incontinence pads it is normal for an assessment to be carried out and it can take a few weeks for the final assessment to be made and if successful supplies may be supplied in accordance with local CCG criteria which might not be sufficient to your husbands needs but as I am assuming that this will ge a short term condition he may not be allocated any and you might have to purchase them personally.

I would contact your GP and discuss this especially as the discharge is showing red and is smelly (and you are right it can be horrendous) as it maybe an indication of something else.

I would also make a telephone call to the bowel and bladder clinic to discuss this and especially the issue of incontinence pads.

If would help you it is possible for you to speak to one of specialist nurses on the telephone support line the number to call is 0808 808 0000 and they are available every day of the week between 8 am and 8 pm and you should be able to discuss this them tomorrow (Saturday)

I hope you husband (and yourself) are coping with his stoma management if you have any problems or need to speak to me about anything to do with his stoma, his pouches or associated products I can be found in this group and also the Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support group which I see you have already joined. I am usually around every day Saturday to Friday inclusive and you can ask me anything to do with stoma management and living with a stoma

I regret that I've not been as helpful as I would have liked to be have been but I hope that smritchie5 and other members may come along soon and give you some more advice.

Once piece of advice I would give is and because of the rectal discharge the following should be observed

Skin care

Anyone who has frequent bowel motions, diarrhoea or accidental leakage (faecal incontinence) may get sore skin around the back passage from time to time. This can be very uncomfortable and distressing. Taking good care of the skin around your back passage can help to prevent these problems from developing.

The following tips may help you:

• After a bowel action, always wipe
gently with soft toilet paper or, ideally, the newer moist toilet paper which you can buy from your pharmacy or supermarket
• Discard each piece of paper after one wipe, so that you are not re-contaminating the area you have just wiped
• Whenever possible, wash around the anus after a bowel action
• Don’t be tempted to use
disinfectants or antiseptics - warm water is best. Similarly, do not use creams or lotions unless advised to do so
• If you do use a barrier cream, choose a simple one (such as zinc and castor oil), use just a small amount and gently rub it in
• Have your skin looked at by your healthcare professional if the discomfort remains

(Taken from a Coloplast leaflet)

Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you and your husband are getting on.

Ian

By clicking on any of the green text above will open up new pages for you.

Thankyou ian for your reply.  We have had the area looked at.  Apparently it is quite normal for a wound to leak this much even if the anus has been taken out and sewn up.  He just wasnt expecting this.  Having a 10 inch scar up your stomach, a stoma bag, rectal and anus removal, lymph node removal is so much to deal with.  Its just a waiting game now for histology results for him.

Thanks for coming back to me.

It really is amazing what the medics deem to be normal after an operation is never passed onto us and we end up worrying when we don't need to.

You may not be aware that many stoma supply companies supply each month disposable bed pads as a complementary item but you do have to ask for them

My supply company is SECURICARE Medical and they give me a pack of 30 every month, I've also have had them from BULLENS and HOMESTYLE POSITIVE which is part of the Convatec family if your supply company is not one of the 3 named I would definitely ask yours if they supply them, they are very useful and could save chairs and bedding getting soiled.

Incidentally I also get annually 1 complimentary washable reusable bed protector from my supply company, SECURICARE, and this is very useful in keeping the bed from getting soiled

Most supply companies have additional complementary items in addition to dry (I get three different sizes) and wet wipes, disposable bags and hand sanitisers but it's a matter of asking, one of the "extras" I get is strong bags that I can put my poo bag in and discretely dispose of my poo and they're very good for using as postal envelopes for things like birthday cards

Hope when the histology results come in they are all good.

Remember we're always here to help and chat at anytime, please keep in touch and keep us informed on how everything is going.

Ian

Thanks ian.   It seems a minefield at first.  I am sure one day we will look back and see how much easier it is with a place to ask these questions, and where better than from those with experience.  I am sure once my husbands rear wound has healed his life will be so much easier and fresher!

Hi, I had the operation in Oct but the smell (which is horrible) did not start until the beginning of Dec. The discharge has got worse since a vac.pack dressing was used. It sometimes works but is not a very good thing because the nurses have trouble getting a good seal. Has anybody got any suggestions or tips please.

Hi ycfc10,

I'm sure you'll understand that where the wound is, isn't in the best of places! It's still early days for you, but your nurses should be able to tell you how well your wound is healing. I had my op in September 2012, and my wound did heal but by early 2013. Sadly one day it opened, and has never healed properly since. The consultant said that because of the radiotherapy to the site, the tissue was much weaker, and, after getting through all of the treatment and surgery, I was then told I had diabetes type 2 and that will make it even harder for the wound to heal completely. I'm now resigned to the fact that I don't think it ever will heal. I do have a run of a few days when there is no discharge, but when it starts again, it makes up for lost time!!! It is what it is. With the awkward position of the wound, I've found that 10cm x 10cm gauze swabs placed over the wound and held in place by underwear works well for me. 

My GP tried silver nitrate on the wound, and whilst it was uncomfortable, I thought it was working until the wound opened again :-( Ask your colorectal nurse for any suggestions to help. Hope you find something that's right for you.

Sorry I can't give you more than this.

Linda

Thank you very much the nurse has said it is clean but it takes time because as you say an awkward place to treat. Did they try a vac dressing on you? 

steve

Have you been offered a vac machine? It has helped my wounds go from 9cm. to 3 cm and 1 of my woulds is veryclose to been healed

ycfc10

Just jumping in to convo I had Apr surgery 2018 the pernianul wound was a nightmare, then came along the vac pump which I dreaded. 

So after months and months of leaky smelly wounds the vac pump healed wound In 4 weeks. 

Such a tricky wound xxxxx

I've had the pump for 3 months but it is helping