Gas and Stool from Closed Rectum Post-Ostomy Surgery: Seeking Advice

After the third surgery on my ostomy, which was to repair a blockage from adhesions, I have experienced gas coming from my closed rectum, and sometimes it feels like poo is coming out of my rectum. I looked in the toilet bowl, and there was a small amount of poo. I wiped to make sure, and it was on the toilet paper too. I have never had anything come out of my closed rectum before, not even mucus, which I heard is common. This is very scary to me, and I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if it is a serious concern.

Thanks to anyone who may have knowledge on this.

Kakoot

How long since your surgery? Wouldn't hurt to call your surgeon's office. Just read your profile and saw you did try to talk to your surgeon... What is the closest big city to you?

What type of ostomy do you have? When you say closed rectum, are you saying you still have the rectum but it's not hooked up to the intestines you have left?

Mean no disrespect here... "crappycolondiaries" = that's a solid gem... also, good advice to the lady.

I was not going to reply because you said you had a colostomy and it wasn't an ileostomy. I have the latter 7 years now. Ileostomy. 7 years to be clear. No large colon, anus, rectum, and sewn up tighter than a clam, or so I thought. This procedure is commonly known in our community as Ken or Barbie Butt (surgery). The medical field may not know these terms. We do. And it helps all of us know what you have without going into detail.

One or the other regarding where you're at.

So, the key words I picked up on your thread and in your profile read is that you said you had a "closed rectum" and this is where I'm going to chime in because if you have a closed rectum regardless of your appliance, nothing should be coming out of that rectum... nothing... and I'm telling you this because tomorrow I'm facing surgery to fix my leaky butt. Tomorrow is

2-7-24...

I've had the large colon removed in 2016 and I had the Ken butt surgery "closed butt" just recently in October, 2023. And I've been recovering since Oct and I'm about 17 weeks post-op. I think I may have ripped a stitch or popped the stitches. I'm getting blood drainage... "spotting"

Not a lot but just enough to be concerned and stain the underwear. It's happened on two occasions after a long walk.

I had said to my doctor we have to fix this!!! And tomorrow we shall fix it!! I told him.

My only suggestion here would be to say is if you're leaking that's a no-no and you have to speak to your surgeon and tell him to fix it. If it's closed it should be closed. You close a door, it's closed, okay? The question is if the door is sealed? Is it sealed properly? Rainwater coming in? Why is it leaking? How can it be fixed? Get it fixed!! Nothing--absolutely nothing--should be coming out of that butt hole if "closed." And by closed you do mean surgically? Not a cork, right? 🤭 Good luck and talk to your surgeon. Get this done.

I will follow up on my own repair in a day or two.

Hi DasBoot,

You're okay. What you're experiencing is pretty normal. Your colon is still trying to do its thing, despite being disconnected. The colon is lined with mucus that helps move your poop down and out your rectum, and the mucus comes out with your poop. Now, even though it's disconnected, it still makes mucus... only there's no poop to drag it out with, so it accumulates. After a while, you'll feel a sensation of having to take a poop... for me, it's about once a month... and you'll swear while sitting there on the throne that you're making real poop. Then when you get up and look, there'll just be a bit of something in the bowl, but nothing like what you felt was coming out. It's just your brain and bowels playing tricks with you. As long as you don't see a significant amount of blood... you're normal. Just think of all the toilet paper you're saving... the Earth might last a whole another day!!!

;O)

I think, bro, you missed where she said the rectum is closed.

Assuming it's surgically closed, there should be nothing exiting that hole unless she has a fistula or, more likely, a broken stitch. And she is saying poop was found and a turd. She needs to elaborate more specifically about "closed" here.

Thank you for replying. I have a colostomy, and my last surgery to fix a blockage caused by adhesions was about 10 weeks ago.

I have a surgically closed rectum. I have only had my colostomy for 3 years, and since then, I have been operated on two more times. Once to fix a hernia that intestines had gone through, so it was an emergency. The last one, like I said, was to fix the blockage. It was a much tougher surgery and took longer to recover. However, with the other surgeries, I never had anything come from my rectum.
I have the rectum left, as I understand it, and I don't know if it is hooked up to intestines, but I would assume it is.

I did call my surgeon, and he said pretty much the same thing as the guy who replied said, that it has happened to him and not to worry. It has happened twice, and I am still concerned as I don't think it should be happening. It is mucus and a small amount of brown stuff, which I think is poo. I shall call him again this week. I have more questions for him because of your reply. I feel like we never get enough explanation about our surgeries, and few doctors and nurses know very little about colostomies, etc. Atlanta is our closest large city. Thanks again for replying. I am new to this site, so not well informed.

Dear Warrior,

Thanks for your reply. First, let me wish you the best of luck in getting your leakage fixed.

I agree with you that I feel nothing should be coming out. This didn't happen until my last surgery 10 weeks ago. I felt a terrible urge to go to the potty, and it felt like everything was coming out of my rectum. I got up immediately, looked in the toilet, and saw mucus and small brown stuff that looked like soft poo. It came off on the toilet paper too. The brown stuff.
I did call my doctor, and he said it could happen and to keep watch on my temperature and not to worry. Well, I am worried and will call again this week. I need more of an explanation. One has to be concerned about sepsis or something else happening.

Thanks again. I am new to the site and have a lot to learn.

Hello w30 bob,

Thanks for your reply. I don't fully understand what you said. Are you saying this happens to you about once a month? How can mucus and poo come out of a surgically closed rectum? Do you have a closed rectum? I was scared when this happened and called my doctor, and he said something very similar to what you said. I still feel it is not normal as I never had this with my other two operations, only the last one, which was much more difficult than fixing the hernia. My last surgery was 10 weeks ago, and it has happened twice now. I just feel it should not be happening. I have also passed gas through my rectum, and that never happened before either. When I looked in the toilet, it was mucus and a small amount of brown poo. I wiped, and the brown stuff came off on the toilet paper.

Do you still think this is normal? I am very interested in your answer. Thanks again for replying. I am new to this site and have a lot to learn.

Hi K,

What we need to know is what exactly you mean when you say 'surgically closed rectum'. Some are thinking you have a proctectomy, which is where they surgically remove your entire rectum, not just close the end that connected to your colon and leave the other end attached to your anus. In that case, there is no rectum anymore, so nothing should be coming out your butt. I assumed your rectum was disconnected, but all or part was still attached to your anus. If that's the case, then the rectum itself can generate mucus, which looks like what you are describing. So if you literally have no part of your rectum and your butt is stitched up tight... any discharge you have needs to be investigated. If you have all or part of your rectum, but it's no longer attached to your colon... you're generating mucus. I know you think you're seeing poo... but you're not. It's either dried blood (bad) or dried mucus. My colon is still attached to my rectum, but I only have about 1/3 of my colon left. So what I see (and feel) is just a mucosal discharge... like I think you're seeing. Unless you tell me your entire rectum was removed and your butt is stitched closed. Sorry if I confused you, hopefully this is a bit clearer.

;O)

Thank you. I appreciate the well wishes. It should be a simple surgery, an hour in and outpatient.

I understand you are new. Here are a few tips as a newbie:

First, reading anyone's profile is always a good first step before answering any thread or topic here.

Second, date your messages because they will be two years old in time, and typing "recently" or "yesterday" doesn't give us a good idea when things happen.

Third, begin your question with today's date because I see old threads here, and note a new format is being used where members reply. There is no date showing its origin. Replying to an old topic which might be ten years old won't matter the time you took to reply to it. Waste.

Fourth, if there is any confusion about anything here, we will fix that. However, if you don't bring someone with you to doctor's appointments, you should because you have a witness to his bullshit, and they could write notes to review later.

I have actually seen printed posters in doctor's offices forbidding the use of taping and audio recordings.

Give as many details as possible when you post anything. Others will add to this. It is very helpful to me, and I find it is a slow process to achieve. You will be okay. We are a good bunch. Welcome.

Not to nitpick, Bob, "but who's counting".

She never said it was surgically closed. I did, Brother. I assumed it was surgically closed because she didn't mention it. I may have lost my hearing, but you better get those eyes checked :P. I hear this kind of thing runs in the family. -Bro.

Hi Bro. You know you should always listen to your bro. Mom used to tell you that all the time. But if you didn't listen to me, why would you listen to Mom? Anyway, I just got my delivery of 3 new pairs of glasses from Zenni the other day. Nothing like 3 pairs of prescription glasses in carbon fiber frames with clip-on sunglasses and even a gratis laser pointer for under $100 bucks! You gotta love those Chinese child labor laws, or lack thereof! I can lend you a pair, because if you look up a few replies you'll see in her reply to Crapster that she DID say it was surgically closed. Here, I'll copy it for you:

"Thank you for replying. I have a colostomy and my last surgery to fix blockage caused by adhesions was about 10 weeks ago. I have a surgically closed rectum."

My point was that "surgically closed rectum" doesn't necessarily mean her rectal stump was removed, just closed (but still there). When they perform a colonoscopy and leave the rectum, they close the end closest to the colon, not closest to the anus. So I'm asking her to clarify if the entire rectum was removed, resulting in a Barbie Butt, or just closed but still connected to her anus when her colon was re-routed to her abdomen. I'm thinking it was just closed and not completely removed, but could be wrong. Hence the request to clarify. Capisce? You really need to turn down Hogan's Heroes while you're replying to messages on here. You know how bad you are at multitasking. And no, I'm not going to suggest you're like Sgt. Schultz, who knows nothing! You know I love ya, bro. Always will. Maybe.

;O)

Hello w30 Bob

Thanks for your reply. I must be using the wrong words. Guess I should have said my butt hole has been surgically closed. So, I hope you are right and I have nothing to worry about as everything else is working okay. I get so confused by doctors as the GI I went to see if the bulge I had on one side of my stomach was a hernia. He said no. However, a few months later I ended up in ER with intestines coming through hernia. So much for that doctor as it could have been repaired earlier without this happening. Four months after that surgery I had a terrible blockage caused by adhesions. That was 10 weeks ago and that surgery was tougher. On my last post-op with the surgeon, I told him I passed gas through my rectum. He said not possible. Then when I called about 3 weeks later with the problem we are discussing, he explained it very similar to what you said. No wonder patients get confused. I am hoping this will eventually correct itself if that is possible. My last surgeon said I have enough of my colon left that I could have been reconnected; I am too old to do that at this point in my life. Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

Thanks again for your reply.

A very interesting analogy comes to mind when I think of this post.

I'm not going to use it... will save it for another time. Teaser, right? 🤨

I'm going to use a real post that just recently happened on a dating site.

With a woman who was 40 years old, mentioning her husband was

"gone" and she had to start dating again and her daughter was helping her out... and I'm not sure if it's actually the daughter that was posting it or the mother. 🤔🤔 I think it was the daughter saying what her mother did.

At 40 years old, trying to get dates with an ostomy that she had, and it was spot on. It didn't matter because her mom had class and character. The guys were falling all over. 🥰🥰😊 blah blah blah...

You know it had nothing to do with the ostomy...

(I am working the room here, folks)

But the key word I picked up on was that she said her husband was "gone" and she did not use an icon to help. The icon could have been a smiley who is looking down 😌😔 you know, sad? Or she could have used an icon where there was a guy running away. 😡🏃‍♂️ So you're left with the impression either the woman's husband had either died or he took off for a 24-year-old? Go figure.

The husband was "gone." Okay, thinking of that, possibly passed away... why not just say passed away!!!!??

Maybe it's analytically for me.

Therefore... Bro... yes, you Bob... chronologically... and stop bringing our mother into this!!

It was not in the OP (original poster) thread.

Jodie replied... then me... then you... then Koot replied... thereafter to us three... at the same time... Hmm.

As Perry Mason...

Could you find it possible, Sir...

The OP used "surgically closed rectum" in Ms. Jodie's reply... because

Ms. Koot read in Mr. Warrior's reply FIRST and replied using it thereafter, leading to your... pre... pre-e-jack... um sorry, your Honor... presumptions it was previously mentioned. Sir? 🤔🤔

I am confused. You have some colon left but you are surgically closed? I think you need to get more information from your doctors or look over your surgical papers before anyone here can help you out. I could be wrong, but I don't believe doctors would remove your rectum or close you up if you have any colon left. Mucus would probably still be present and have to drain somewhere.

Ditto that, bro.