Hey There,
Not wanting to scare anyone out there, if you need LIS definently do it! I've had 2 and 0 incontinence.
That being said, just wondering if anyone that has had surgery has noticed if their rectum looks different since surgery? Recently before surgery #2 I noticed that my rectum was not in line with my vagina. I brought this up to the CRS and he stated "maybe, but irrelevant". I tried to tell him it wasn't like this before and he just shrugged. Now when I look in the mirror it seems to be slightly more off (since surgery #2) and more skin seems to be on the left side than the right. It looks about 1 cm off from the center of my vagina to the right side. I really don't think it was like that before, I would've noticed. Even if I look at my bum crack, the center of my rectum is off from that. Thank god no one looks there! Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else?????

I've never looked at it in this level of detail before... But, almost a year after LIS, I did have an "ass exam" by a GI doc when I was seen for stomach pain. In his exam notes, he wrote "rectal deformity consistent with prior anal surgery." So I would say that yes, it probably does noticeably change the appearance of the anus. In what exact way, I can't say, I'm afraid.

This isn't uncommon, infact after anal surgery we could expect to get what is known as a "Keyhole deformity"
http://www.springerlink.com/content/26202115n5m364wh/
BTW, I checked my arse out and it definitely is off centre, I also have a certain thickness of skin on the left side!

Thanks guys! That makes me feel a bit better!

I guess it's a hallmark of LIS patients, we can be indentified by our arseholes alone!!! LOL

Another wonderful answer from this forum!!! I have worried about the "weird" situation of my a'hole for years. Having been subjected to two hemmy ops within three days, another one a few years later, then a huge thrombosed one a few years after that, mine can no longer be regarded as perfectly placed in line with my vagina, in fact the small opening that I have feels like it is well away from where it should be, but no doctor has said to me that it is totally weird...and I have seen all my records. My OB/GYN nurse seemed a bit worried that the skin might grow over the entrance because of adhesions, but that does not seem to have happened.
Not sure what a keyhole deformity is, but shall do a search.
One thing that I have is the sensation that I have no muscles left in my butt cheeks, which makes my coccyx hurt, but that is probably from sitting on it too much, lack of exercise and loss of weight. Anyway. Just over a week until I see a specialist. Not expecting a world shattering event, but maybe a few answers. A bit nervous/terrified that he will attempt to put something up me to look. Find that thought pretty scary with the pain and the thin skin.
Em

StevePain wrote:I guess it's a hallmark of LIS patients, we can be indentified by our arseholes alone!!! LOL

Steve, my off-center asshole can beat up your off-center asshole!
In all seriousness, the things one learns from this place ... medical marijuana to off-center anuses (or is that ani?).
I feel pretty comforted by this thread too. For a while I was thinking maybe I had the only deformed anus out there. Glad to have you other mutants aboard

NeuropathicGuy wrote:Steve, my off-center asshole can beat up your off-center asshole!

WARNING!! My FARTS can kill alone!!

OMG, you guys at least have a sense of humour about this! :)
As for the keyhole deformity... I think that is referring to leakage. When your anus no longer closes to keep gas/stool in. At least that was my understanding from the CRS when I was contemplating the surgeries and worried about leakage when I was on benefibre/mirilax. He assured me I didn't have that, I'll need to ask again tomorrow at my follow - up after the second surgery. So comforting to know I'm not the only one with a crooked ass!

An off-center asshole, eh? Just another little something to look forward to, I guess. Quite frankly I don't care if it winds up growing out of the side of my head if I feel better.
Keyhole deformity to my understanding happened more often in the old days of LIS, when they didn't know better and made the incision at 6:00 or 12:00--cutting the muscle there instead of laterally can make it harder for the anus to close properly, hence the leakage.