Due to old age and certain medical conditions, fecal matter can harden and become lodged in the lower intestine and colon. I am wondering if you could help me with finding information on the topic of removing such fecalith. Thank you.

Dear Brandon,

Do you think you may have a case of fecalith or something? That's gotta suck.

First off, I suggest preventative measures: diet, exercise, and water. Eat a high fiber, well-balanced diet. Fiber acts like a toothbrush along the digestive tract. Exercise helps your muscles with peristalsis (the rhythmic movements in your digestive tract). Water helps hydrate your body, including your poop, to make it less dried out and easier to pass along. All this together helps your poop not get stuck to the intestinal wall.

I don't think a fecalith is generally detected until someone has signs and symptoms (such as fever, lower right abdominal pain, and chills), which is then known as appendicitis. But there are different types of appendicitis and consequently, different treatments.

Confined appendicitis refers to inflammation of the appendix. Treatment for this is usually a course of antibiotics and usually resolves on its own. Sometimes your doctor may want to remove the appendix to prevent any chance of future problems.

Perforated appendix is when the appendix gets inflamed, infected, and then ruptures, often causing an abscess and/or infection inside the abdomen. The abscess generally needs to be drained from the body and a treatment of antibiotics is usually prescribed. From my experience with people having perforated appendixes, they then have the appendix removed.

Now, there are different ways of removing the appendix. An open appendectomy is when the surgeon slices through the layers of the abdomen on the lower right quarter, kinda near the hip bone. The colon is then brought out of the skin a bit and the appendix is chopped out. The surgeon then sutures the hole where the appendix once was, tucks everything neatly back into the abdomen, then sutures up the skin. Voila!

A laprascopic appendectomy is when the surgeon uses a small camera and tiny tools to view and remove the appendix. The appendix can be removed with the instruments, leaving only a few puncture wounds. Sounds kind of sci-fi, eh? People who have lapracsopic appendectomies generally have faster recoveries and less pain versus people who have open appendectomies.

I hope this long-winded answer answered your question!

Phew,
Snapper

Snapper is a general medical-surgical Registered Nurse. And a Canadian one at that. She is not a doctor. She has never claimed to be one. She doesn't plan on ever being one. But, dang! She sure is smart, wonderful, and hot. She does not intend to give definitive medical advice on PoopReport.com, and the information provided here is not a substitute for readers seeking medical advice. All concerns should be followed up by your doctor.