Mucus Discharge After Colostomy and Ken Butt Surgery: Will It Ever Stop?

So I had a colostomy and a Ken butt surgery. Initially, I had some mucus discharge, but it eventually stopped. But it has since come back. Will there always be mucus discharge, or will it eventually go away?

Thanks

If you have your butt completely sewn shut, you should have no discharge.

Just double-checking… where is the mucus coming from?

Anal Region

Sean.

I'm Tony. We might be neighbors. Same state. Different counties.

You have my attention. You work on cars? Me too.

You have a recent Ken butt? Me too.

As Alex mentioned, if you are sewn up butt-wise, there should be no mucus.

Now I know there is drainage. I feel it. A dribble between cheeks.

It sometimes stains. Has an odor too.

I'm 12 weeks post-op.

Saw doctor Thursday. It's normal for some leakage but will stop.

How if you have a fistula maybe that could be possible, but rare.

Where did you have the surgery? Who is your doctor? I live near Ocean County College, but my doctors are all in Red Bank, NJ.

Welcome aboard. Speak your mind. I'd be happy to meet you as well but haven't heard of your town.

Also, if you don't mind, please explain to us why you have a colostomy with a sewn butt because my take on that is colostomy patients retain their large intestine for future hookup, yet you say your butt is sewed up and that to me says they removed the large intestine. So if you didn't mind explaining exactly what you think you have, then maybe we can help you out. Nine times out of ten the doctors never really tell you the truth, and I know that sounds sick, but they only give you a little bit and maybe you misunderstood them. But it's important for us to know where you're coming from, and it's a little confusing having a colostomy and having the butt sewn up. So feel free to elaborate, you know, give details, and the more you give us, the more we can give back. Okay, hope to hear from you. Thanks.

Hi Tony,

Maybe it isn't mucus but just discharge. Hung up a bit on mucus as I did have an abscess that was infected that I had to deal with post-op.

I am wearing pads all the time and would love for that to end as I think it adds to the overall discomfort. But it beats getting the bed wet and such.

We are in South Jersey in Salem County. The doctors are part of the UPenn-Virtua group in Cherry Hill outside of Philly.

Thanks,

Aaahhh. Salem. Cool.

Abscess not cool.

Good hospital.

So it would be safe to say the abscess was from a fistula?

I had one abscess many years ago. Oh, that's a bitch. Especially living alone.

You had drainage, I am sure.

It is normal. Will heal. Just don't aggravate it. Keeping legs close.

Rolling into bed or car. Be patient. It's all still new for you.

I'm curious, why a Ken butt if you have a colostomy? I have a permanent colostomy, with butt parts left in place. I considered reversal, but am not a good candidate due to previous radiation treatment.

I have read, if you don't get a reversal with a colostomy, eventually you will need Ken butt surgery. Possibly to prevent cancer in that area. Not sure if that is correct.

That is correct. Was told the same thing 6 years ago, and the puzzled faces continue at Sean's situation. 🤔

I had rectal cancer and the tumors were too close to the anal opening even with chemo and radiation. So, they had to remove the anus.

As John Belushi in Animal House:

Holy shit!

Oh man. Explains the bag. I can't comment on the rectal cancer, tumors, etc... but Beachboy and Alex know

more about that. Blessings

Ok. I didn't have underlying trouble like Crohn's, cancer, or ulcerative colitis.

I had a friend at work who refused to get a colonoscopy. Finally, after hearing enough grief from me, he got one. Well... lucky him. He had anal canal cancer, caught early enough to be cured by radiation. Just a little longer wait, and he would have had surgery, a colostomy with Ken butt. He thanks me all the time. I sometimes flash my stoma at him to show what he's missing.

Whoops. My bad. A thousand apologies to Beachboy.

I'm still having mucous discharge almost two years after the Ken butt. It seems to come out a bit forward of the former rectum and is both stinky and corrosive. Disposable underwear and constant cleaning are the only way to avoid a painful rash in the area. The docs say that surgery would be needed to even figure out what's going on as nothing shows up on the scans. Not going there! Twice a day showers and baby wipes by the case, and getting by.

When I get frustrated and depressed, I try to remember that I should have been long gone by now. Colon and rectal cancer, stage four, and I'm over three years out from diagnosis. Often uncomfortable, but not nearly as bad as it was during chemo and radiation.

Here's my advice, not that it means that much, but read it anyway. 😁 I had my surgery, and everything seemed to be healing just fine. About a week after surgery, I got a small drip from my butt. They had a hard time finding anything, but then it opened up much more. Tissue damage from radiation. When it was at its worst, the whole back of my leg would be raw, like diaper rash, from it, and I wore a pad for months. The only thing that healed it was Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments and then a small placenta graft. If I were you, I'd inform your doctor and see if you have the same issue. That diaper rash crap is horrible to deal with.

G-Day SeanB,

If you have discharge from the anal region and you have a Ken Butt, then get off to the surgeon and get it fixed, or it could be a fistula. Regards, IGGIE

Called the surgeon. Back on antibiotics and have an appointment to see him first thing Tuesday AM. As long as things don't get any worse, I should be able to make it.

Thanks

Fingers crossed, neighbor 🤞🤞

Let us know the outcome. Good luck. Regards, IGGIE.

Update ……

Discharge stopped a few days ago. Still taking antibiotics. Met with surgeon. Everything looks good to him. He suspects that I was/am still fighting an infection which was causing the discharge. He said things should really calm down and I should not expect any discharge going forward. So hopefully this is what happens.

Thanks to everyone here for your advice, kind words, and well wishes.

Cheers

Well, the stupid drainage has come back. Not heavy but still intermittently present. Contacted surgeon and have a new antibiotic to go on. Fingers crossed that this actually works and clears things up. I would hate to need some sort of surgical solution... Been through enough hospital visits to suit me for a while.

Fingers crossed.

I had “Ken butt” surgery and had mucous post-surgery. At one point, I developed a fistula. To prevent infections, the surgeon would periodically debride the open wound every 6 months to help shape the wound and get it to heal from the inside out naturally. We also tried hyperbaric O2 therapy for a couple of months (it didn't really help). I had a consultation with another wound specialist surgeon who considered taking my gracilis muscle (back of the leg) and flipping it to fill the wound. We weren't sure if it would reach and not 100% it would heal fully. I declined the surgery. A home nurse would come daily to pack the wound with gauze, and we let it naturally heal. Eventually, it closed up on its own. Totally anecdotal, but I think when I rode a bicycle, the discharge would increase. Sharing my experience so you know there are options. And sometimes, by doing nothing, the body will heal.