The senior administrator of Lutheran Community Centre Primary Health Care Centre of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Eliana Moshi, has revealed that the next cycle of fistula operations will be in March this year.

The senior pastor of the church, Augustine Martin, said out of the 27 patients who underwent fistula surgery last year, eight are expected to return in March 2022 because their operations were unsuccessful.

Augustine said the rest of the 19 patients had their cases successfully completed as recommended by the doctor, and they will not return in March.

“Last month we had 27 operations but eight were unsuccessful, so, they will come back in March because when your operation is successful, you don’t come back but when it is unsuccessful, you have to come back,” he explained.

In an interview with City Review in October last year, the administrators cited the negative impacts of culture on young girls who were married early. They said that it was one of the major causes of fistula in young girls.

They also argued that while delivering babies, unprofessional doctors could mishandle women and cause them to develop medical conditions, including fistula.

What is a fistula?

A fistula is defined as an abnormal connection between two body parts, such as an organ or blood vessel, and another structure. They are usually a result of an injury or surgery. Infection or inflammation can also cause a fistula.

Fistulas can form between an artery and vein, bile ducts and the surface of the skin as a result of gall bladder surgery, the cervix and vagina, the neck and throat. They can also happen in the space inside the skull and nasal sinus, the bowel and vagina, the colon, and the surface of the body, which might cause faeces to exit through an opening other than the anus.

It also forms in the stomach and the surface of the skin, or in the uterus and the peritoneal cavity, which is a space between the walls of the abdomen and internal organs.

It also happens between an artery and veins in the lungs, which makes blood not pick up enough oxygen in the lungs, the navel, and the gut.

Inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or chronic diseases may lead to fistulas between one loop of the intestine and another. 

An injury can also cause fistulas to form between arteries and veins. However, the operation is recommended as the best solution to it.