My brother age 51 had sphincter-sparing surgery on 5/1/06 for resection of a Stage 2 rectal cancer, his nodes are negative, all margins clear thankfully. The board certified colo-rectal surgeons were unable to do a J-pouch because of his narrow pelvis, they did a colo-anal anastomosis. He developed a high fever and severe rectal pain 2 weeks after the surgery- back to the university hospital, they did not appreciate an abcess at this time. 2 weeks later he was again back to the hospital, this time the abcess was clearly present and he was admitted for one week of incision & drainage, antibiotics etc. He left the hospital with a rectal drain, now 3 weeks later the drain is out, fever is gone but he is having almost constant small formed stools. His surgeon does not want him to start a bowel training program that includes Metamucil or Benefiber at present, just use Lomotil and a low fiber diet. The very frequent bowel movements are restricting his life, not to mention that sometimes he can not make it to a bathroom. It is becoming very difficult for him to deal with, and also very socially isolating, his line of work involves meeting and talking with people, so he has not been able to work. Does anyone have experience with this kind of sphincter-sparing surgery and the side-effects? I am trying very hard to find someone that may have gone through this and how they managed their recovery, so that I can give my brother some hope that things will get better. Thanks for reading this and any help is greatly appreciated.