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New Cough & Cold Line

Due to the increase in respiratory illness in our community -- flu, RSV and COVID-19 -- ChristianaCare has set up a new COUGH & COLD LINE to help you out! If you are 18 and older and don’t feel well, CALL 302-623-7400, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Through a series of prompts, the ChristianaCare COUGH & COLD LINE will provide helpful info on how best to manage your cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms at home. We’ll also guide you on when you should seek care.

Through the ChristianaCare COUGH & COLD LINE, we can help connect you with a ChristianaCare virtual primary care provider.

If your need is more urgent, there are 16 ChristianaCare Go-Health Urgent Care Centers in DE and MD. Save your spot in line or set up a virtual visit.

Urogynecology

Genital Fistula

Get help for Genital Fistulas.

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Surgery Can Help FAQs

Surgery Can Help

Surgery can address the embarrassing symptoms.

A fistula is an opening between two organs that normally do not communicate with each other. According to the World Health Organization, more than 2 million women live with fistulas between the bladder and the vagina (vesicovaginal fistula) and the rectum and vagina (rectovaginal fistula), which are typically caused by a prolonged, obstructed labor in developing countries.

There are other causes, however, and the women all share symptoms that can be irritating, distressing and painful. In developing countries, women are often ostracized. In any area of the world, the involuntary loss of urine or fecal matter from the vagina is embarrassing.

Surgery can close the holes and help you lead a normal life.

FAQs

Your doctor may find the fistula during an exam. Additional diagnostic tests may include:

Cystoscopy.
Cystogram.
Back-filling the bladder with colored fluid to see if it leaks into the vagina.
Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
Collecting vaginal fluid for analysis.

Again, a long, difficult labor and childbirth are the most frequent causes.

Others include:

Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis or another inflammatory bowel disease.
Radiation treatment or cancer in the area.
Complications from surgery.
Vaginal trauma.

The most apparent symptom is a stool or gas coming from your vagina and not your rectum. Other symptoms include:

Pus coming from your vagina.
Vaginal discharge with an unpleasant smell.
Recurrent vaginal or urinary tract infections.
Irritation or pain in the vulva, vagina and perineum, which is the space between your vagina and anus.
Pain during sexual intercourse.

Your doctor may find the fistula during an exam. Diagnostic tests may include:

Anorectal or transvaginal ultrasound.
Methylene enema. If a tampon, inserted into the vagina, turns blue when a dye is injected into the rectum, you have a fistula.
Barium enema. Contrast dye helps the doctor pinpoint a fistula on an X-ray.
Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Colonoscopy.

Depending on the cause, the doctor can use surgery to close the holes. Before surgery, however, your doctor will treat any infection.

During the procedure, the surgeon will close the holes and then layer your own connective tissue between the holes to help prevent them from reopening. The area needs a good blood supply so that the tissue survives. When the surgery is correctly performed the first time, it has a high success rate.