Medical Questions » Female Problems Questions » Question No. 379
| Question: | I have a terribly personal and embarrassing problem. Whenever I try to pass faeces, a lump comes out of my vagina. I can pass a little bit, but no more. As soon as I stand up, the lump goes and I need to go again. Is it cancer? |
| Answer: | You probably have a rectocoele, and not cancer.
During childbirth the vaginal canal becomes very stretched. As you age, the tissues supporting the walls of the vagina becomes slack. The combination of these two factors leads to a weakness on the back wall of the vagina and the lower part of the gut (the rectum) can sag (prolapse) into the vagina.
When you attempt to pass faeces, the increased pressure in the abdomen pushes the rectum further into the vagina, even to the point where part of the back wall of the vagina is pushed outside as a lump. When this happens, the rectum takes on a very sharp S shape, and this makes it difficult for the faeces to pass down further. You can expel the small amount of faeces just inside the anus, but no further faeces can pass the S to reach the anus.
When you stand up and relax, the lump goes down, the S straightens out, faeces moves down the rectum a bit further, and you want to go to the toilet again.
The solution is to have an operation to strengthen the back wall of the vagina and suspend the rectum so that it cannot sag. In the short term, a rubber ring inserted by a doctor into the vagina may prevent the problem.
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