Fistula Plug Update

I had the fistula plug put in about 10 weeks ago, and I am feeling better than ever. No more fistuals, no more drainage, no more pain!!!

They had wanted to do the plug for a while, but I needed to wait until I was in complete remission. Once I was finally better (no symptoms and good colonoscopy) I decided to go for it (even though it doesn't have the best success rate, especially in Crohns patients). Recovery wasn't too bad either. A week off of work in moderate pain. The second week I went back to work, but was still in some discomfort but managed with pain meds. By week three I was great. Just did second follow up with my doctor and she said it looks perfect. Just thought I would share. Before getting the plug, I saw a lot of failure stories, so I just wanted to share this victory!

Sometimes with these awful fistulas, we have to just go for it when nothing else works.

Beth

Glad to hear it has worked
I hope you stay well.

Congratulations! It is nice to hear of a success story. Can I ask... which hospital and surgeon did the plug for you? I am in the NYC area and am investigating. Thanks!

dgg - my colorectal surgeon is Kelly Garrett with Weill Cornell Colorectal Surgery Center. I love Dr. Garrett. I have also seen other doctors in the office and they all seem wonderful. They are affiliated with NY Presbyterian, which is where they do all the proceedures. I highly recommend. Easy to get appointments, nice staff and great doctors. The plug was something we talked about for a while, but she worked with my GI to determine when it was right. The right time was definitely while I was in remission. Link to Colorectal Surgery website is below. Good luck!

http://www.weillcornell.org/practice/colorectal/index.html

Thanks for the info! I had my first fistula surgery there as well and my surgeon was great (Dr, Stein, but she left a few years back). Hope I can be as lucky as you!

CrohnsNYC said:

I had the fistula plug put in about 10 weeks ago, and I am feeling better than ever. No more fistuals, no more drainage, no more pain!!!

They had wanted to do the plug for a while, but I needed to wait until I was in complete remission. Once I was finally better (no symptoms and good colonoscopy) I decided to go for it (even though it doesn't have the best success rate, especially in Crohns patients). Recovery wasn't too bad either. A week off of work in moderate pain. The second week I went back to work, but was still in some discomfort but managed with pain meds. By week three I was great. Just did second follow up with my doctor and she said it looks perfect. Just thought I would share. Before getting the plug, I saw a lot of failure stories, so I just wanted to share this victory!

Sometimes with these awful fistulas, we have to just go for it when nothing else works.

Beth

Click to expand...

Hi Beth,
I'm very happy you took time to report your victory! Sometimes when we are feeling great after such awful problems for so long, we can forget that others still in the awful stages could really use a boost by hearing of a success. Really gives hope to those who only get exposed to the sad and painful posts that unfortunately overwhelm forums.

I just had surgery yesterday for placement of my very first (and hopefully last) non-cutting seton for a perianal fistula I have. The last time I posted before the surgery I was in a scared and sad place with thoughts of how this seton might not work or that I would remain in awful perianal pain forever. I was asking others with a non cutting seton to share their experiences with me, and those who responded mostly had good outcomes. It really calmed my nerves before surgery

A few hours after I got home after surgery yesterday I knew I needed to post an update to my last post to let everyone know how great an experience I had with the surgery and the recovery throughout the day. It was a great victory for me as well and I hope it helps others.

Anyway, I'm glad your plug was a success, and if I decide to go the plug route down the road, your shared victory will be in my thoughts thanks for sharing!

Does anyone know how much the plug procedure costs? I was just informed that insurance doesn't cover the procedure. While my health matters most, I now have to look at my options. Any help would be appreciated.

My Colo/Rectum surgeon said plugs don't work, and doesn't do the procedure anymore. I am glad it worked for someone.

It's great that your plug worked. I'm assuming since a colorectal surgeon did it that you had an anal fistula.

Has anyone had experience with a fistula plug for an enterocutaeous also called gastrointestinal fistula ?

jayann said:

It's great that your plug worked. I'm assuming since a colorectal surgeon did it that you had an anal fistula.

Has anyone had experience with a fistula plug for an enterocutaeous also called gastrointestinal fistula ?

Click to expand...

I was going to ask the same thing only for a rectovaginal fistula, just wondering has the plug worked for that? But its great to hear that it has worked for some people.

Zaf said:

Does anyone know how much the plug procedure costs? I was just informed that insurance doesn't cover the procedure. While my health matters most, I now have to look at my options. Any help would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Zaf,

Cook Medical in Bloomington Indiana makes a porcine plug.

Customer Service:

United States and the Americas
English, Español
•Toll Free: 800.457.4500
•Phone: 812.339.2235
•Fax: 800.554.8335
•E-mail Address:
sharedservices@cookmedical.com »

I'm afraid I don't know the cost. For some vague reason the $1500 rings a bell. I've googled around in the past. BCBS doesn't cover it, but I did read somewhere that BCBS Federal Program covers anything that is FDA approved.
Your uniform looks military? Won't the health program for military cover it?
Hope that might help you get a start in finding out.

jayann