So the lump promptly returned. Looks different this time, like a giant white head. I am very confident in the diagnosis of fistula.
A fistula is a passageway between two parts of the body that shouldn't be there. It's a fairly common birth defect and can happen anywhere I guess. The idea of fistula really make sense to me, because looking at this "lump" in it's various stages I can totally imagine a tiny narrow channel somehow running from the rectum to this place in his skin; it can fill with tiny bits of pus or blood, etc. It fills and then opens and the stuff comes out, only to refill again. This link explains it pretty well: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec09/ch130/ch130e.html
I will call the doctor on Monday to let her know. Again, what she said was that if it refilled I was to call her. At that point she will refer us to the specialists at the Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. My doc said that if it was a fistula they would have to remove it. That means surgery, but I don't really know what exactly would be involved. The link above suggests there are different ways of dealing with it. So I guess we'll just call the doctor on Monday and take it from there.
Eeeek. I guess this proves that when something looks abnormal it's always worth getting it checked out. Mother's hunches are probably pretty good.
2 comments:
That's great you are getting the info you need and are pursuing a visit to a specialist. No need to worry--it's just the right thing to do. You sound confident and informed to me, Liz. I know that it's not fun, but you will be in good hands.
Thinking about you guys -- Anne
I hope everything goes well and it's resolved soon. Thinking of you guys.
Post a Comment