A fistula was an abnormal hole in the bladder or the bowel. A recto-urethral fistula was a hole in between the urethra (urinary channel) & the rectum. This hole may leads to the leakage of urine into the rectum & feces travelling into the bladder.
A recto-urethral fistula was characterized by a abnormal connection of the urethra to either of the anus or rectum. This may results in both solid waste & urine emptying from the body by the urethra.
CAUSES:
The most common and important causes of this problem will be one of the following:
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Surgery on the bowel
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Surgery on the uterus or cervix
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Treatment for prostate cancer; treatments for prostate cancer which may cause a fistula that will includes any form of radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, cryotherapy, and high intensity focused ultrasound.
SYMPTOMS:
One of the telltale signs of the fistula was urine leaking out the rectum. Another sign was severe urinary tract infections. Patients will sometimes become very weak and ill at the time of diagnosis of this fistula.
DIAGNOSIS:
It was vital to divert the flow of the feces away from the urinary tract & treat infections when a fistula was first diagnosed. Feces were diverted in certain procedure called as colostomy.
Colostomy: In this surgery the colon or small bowel was brought up to the skin & sewn in that place. A stoma bag was pasted to the skin because to collect the feces. This was a temporary measure till the infection will be treated & the fistula was repaired. Usually patients should wait in between the colostomy placement & the fistula repair to allow infection & inflammation to resolve. Rarely fistula may heal instinctively with only the colostomy surgery.
Surgery for a recto-urethral fistula was generally performed by the perineum (the area in between the scrotum and rectum), which brings a quicker recovery than an surgery by the abdomen (stomach). In this surgery, the rectum & urethra were safely separated & the hole on each side was closed. In complex cases, a muscle flap from inner thigh was used to fill the space in between & act as a obstacle to prevent the fistula from occurring again.
