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<\/p>\nHer worst nightmare came true as the results came positive, and thus began a long journey of trials.<\/p>\n
Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Her rare genetic disorder needed the removal of her colon to prevent cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother and a few cousins in the family have this disorder, and realising the possibility that I could inherit it, I did a genetic test and was diagnosed with the disorder. I had more than 1,000 polyps,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n With most of her large intestine gone, she needed a new way for waste to exit her body.<\/p>\n Surgeons performed a J-pouch procedure\u2014a common reconstructive surgery for patients in her situation.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Alyssa developed a recto-vaginal fistula, a distressing and serious condition where an abnormal connection forms between the rectum and vagina.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was incredibly painful and humiliating,\u201d Alyssa recalled. \u201cI had three openings in my anus that were communicating with my vagina. I was passing stool through my vagina. It felt like an endless cycle of surgeries and disappointments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2018Familial adenomatous polyposis\u2019 is a rare genetic condition, and it is estimated to affect about one in 8,000 people.<\/p>\n There is a high risk of developing colorectal cancer<\/a><\/strong>, and while Alyssa had undergone lifesaving surgery, her condition had worsened due to several complications.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n She soon turned to an international community on Facebook<\/a>, Fistula Support Group, where she decided to check out alternative treatment approaches and read about a novel approach, distal laser proximal ligation surgery, that Dr Ashwin Porwal, a Pune<\/a>-based colo-rectal surgeon and founder of Healing Hands Clinic, has pioneered.<\/p>\n She admits to never having heard about the treatment, but reading success stories from several patients across more than 20 countries in the support group gave her hope.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like my last chance at a normal life,\u201d she said and decided to fly down to Pune.<\/p>\n Pregnancy complicates condition<\/strong><\/p>\n When Alyssa arrived in India in 2023, her case had grown even more complex\u2014she was five months pregnant.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAdministering anaesthesia posed significant risks, and any surgical intervention had to be meticulously planned to ensure the safety of both mother and baby,\u201d Dr Porwal recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were dealing with an extremely delicate situation \u2014 not only was her fistula highly complex, but we also had to take every precaution to ensure the pregnancy remained unaffected,\u201d Dr Porwal said.<\/p>\n The team proceeded with extreme caution.<\/p>\n Plant-based medications replaced standard pharmaceuticals to ensure the baby\u2019s safety, and even anaesthesia was meticulously adjusted to minimise risk.<\/p>\n The use of laser makes debridement (removal of dead, damaged or infected tissue) more effective and takes care of fibrosis associated with the complex fistula.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the surgery, efficient drainage from the fistula in the first two to three weeks is the key to success for a cure,\u201d Dr Porwal said.<\/p>\n This is achieved by a timely follow-up planned at five days, two weeks, four weeks and six weeks.<\/p>\n There is no need for daily dressing with DLPL, and the patient can resume work in three to five days,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n As per the Indian Journal of Colorectal Surgery, the DLPL surgery is a safe and effective treatment for complex fistula-in-ano.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n According to Dr Porwal, it is a minimally invasive sphincter-saving surgery for complex fistulas.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically it addresses the intersphincteric space, which is the root cause of complex fistula,\u201d said Dr Porwal, who has treated more than 7,000 patients<\/p>\n \u201cThe traditional surgery for fistula has a failure rate which can range to 30 per cent, but with DLPL, the failure rate is around 1 per cent,\u201d Dr Porwal said.<\/p>\n After weeks of close monitoring in India, Alyssa was cured from a complex vaginal fistula.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n She returned to Texas and later delivered a healthy baby in the US in February 2024, free from complications or anomalies.<\/p>\n The baby turned one year old this year and has no complications.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, my insides have healed,\u201d Alyssa said.<\/p>\n After her stay in India, she decided to name her baby boy \u2018Devendra,\u2019 which in Sanskrit means \u2018chief of the Gods\u2019.<\/p>\n She is now planning a bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daily life had become a huge battle for Alyssa Pettigrew, a 37-year-old accountant from Texas. Pain coupled with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[50373,50378,50372,30287,46502,267,730,8152,50379,50371,50374,46364,50377,50376,70,50375,50370,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-110997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-colon-removal","9":"tag-familial-adenomatous-polyposis","10":"tag-family-disorder","11":"tag-genetic-disorder","12":"tag-genetic-test","13":"tag-genetics","14":"tag-india","15":"tag-indian-express","16":"tag-pune","17":"tag-pune-doctor","18":"tag-pune-genetic-disorder-case","19":"tag-rare-genetic-disorder","20":"tag-rare-medical-condition","21":"tag-reconstructive-surgery","22":"tag-science","23":"tag-texas-woman-colon-removal","24":"tag-texas-woman-genetic-disorder","25":"tag-uk","26":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114527376958008127","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Festive](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/UPSC_banner_640x70.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n