Abscess after Sigmoid Colon Vaginoplasty

2
u/Dangerous_Garbage_72
Sat Feb 17 03:50:25 2024 UTC
(5 comments)

Hello everyone. I'm in a bit of a mess and can't seem to find solutions anywhere. Any help or suggestion would be hugely appreciated.

I had a secondary sigmoid vaginoplasty in Sep 2022. After almost a year since the surgery, I started getting a lot of pain in the abdomen, constipation, urine blockage, fever. CT Scan showed a big abscess right next to the colon. Since then, I have tried various ways to get rid of the abscess but it keeps coming back with a vengeance.

Has anyone else faced anything similar to this?

vaginoplasty #sigmoidvaginoplasty #colon #abscess

all 5 comments


3
u/[deleted]
Sat Feb 17 05:43:28 2024 UTC
(4 children)

What are the "various ways" you have tried? Did they tell you where specifically the abscess is stemming from? Is it from your colon or your vagina? Did they ever place a drain? Did they do cultures? How many times has the abscess returned?

Speaking generally, there's not a lot that you specifically can do without medical advice/ intervention. It really seems like you need to get with your doctor on this, and if you haven't already you need to make your surgeon aware of what's going on (assuming you've seen other providers for this issue). An abscess will really only recur like this if the root cause is not addressed. And unless you are just not practicing good hygiene when it comes to your vagina (dirty toys, etc), then it's not likely caused by anything you're doing. And even if hygiene is an issue, it shouldn't cause an internal abscess like that.

FYI I'm not trans but I work in medical and like to help here when I can.

3
OP
Sat Feb 17 07:16:08 2024 UTC
(3 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

I got my vaginoplasty done in Bangkok. I'm from India. When the abscess showed up one year after the surgery, I was back in India. Travelling back and getting treated in Bangkok would've been expensive. So, I sought out a surgeon in India. First couple of times, they aspirated/drained out the abscess. The culture was done. It wasn't malignant.

Then, it recurred a third time, so the surgeon said he needs to go inside to remove it. [He couldn't ascertain the cause of the abscess at all. It is abutting the colon as well as the vagina without direct communication with either - that's the best he could tell from CT Scan.]

Last month, he performed a robotic surgery which he said was a success, and that he cut open the abscess, drained it out and lined the whole thing up with fat tissue so that there is no place left for liquid to collect.

And yet, three weeks after that surgery, the abscess has come back at the same spot. The doctor is also stumped. Now he is saying that he would do another surgery - an open surgery this time - wherein he will go in and remove the entire lining of the cavity - because the lining must be secreting the liquid which is collecting.

Now, I am totally confused. Should I trust him again and put myself under the knife through him again? [Also, is it risky to go for surgeries and General Anesthesia etc so soon, back to back?]

Or should I just gather money and go back to the same surgeon in Bangkok? Should I trust him again?

Any thoughts?

2
Sat Feb 17 12:51:06 2024 UTC
(0 children)

This is tough since your doctor is already very familiar with this issue.. I would honestly lean toward sticking with him. But being wary of going under anesthesia is not unreasonable just because there are always risks with any anesthesia event. It sounds like you may need a more aggressive treatment though I wouldn't jump to think your doctor has necessarily screwed anything up. CT scans only provide so much info when it comes to soft tissue, so the point of origin of your abscess may not be clear just from the CT. It may be something that needs to be directly visualized to understand what is causing it and precisely where it is originating from. Definitely bring up your concerns with repeated anesthesia but, more notably, open surgery into the abdomen comes with more risks. This is likely why the doctor didn't jump to this initially since it's considered pretty aggressive. It's very important to get the abscess addressed though, so at this point the pros may outweigh the cons. Definitely a discussion to have with the doctor!

With all that being said, it's not a bad idea to get your surgeon's opinion on what is going on and/or seek a second opinion elsewhere. If you do this, though, definitely come prepared with record and result of what's been done. Many patients misinterpret their own care, so having a record will help the other doctor be more comfortable in making a complete evaluation.

1
Sat Feb 17 07:19:14 2024 UTC
(1 child)

I never heard of this before.

Who was your original surgeon?

3
OP
Sat Feb 17 07:19:59 2024 UTC
(0 children)

Dr. Chettawut in Bangkok.