Bowel leakage, accidental stool leakage, and loss of bowel control in Sandy Springs and Atlanta

What bowel leakage can feel like

Some people notice a small smear of stool when they pass gas. Others have a sudden urge that is hard to hold, or a complete loss of bowel control. You may have started wearing a pad, mapping errands around a restroom, or avoiding a long car ride from Buckhead, Brookhaven, or Dunwoody into the city. Those everyday workarounds are useful information for us, and you do not have to minimize them in the room.

People use different words for the same problem: accidental bowel leakage, leaking stool, bowel incontinence, or fecal incontinence. We will use the wording that fits what you are actually experiencing. The amount you leak does not, by itself, tell us the cause, which is why we would rather hear the story than have you wait and hope it settles on its own.

What can lead to leaking stool or a loss of bowel control

Official Advanced Urology materials describe several common contributors, and more than one can be present at the same time. Muscle injury around the anus, including injury during childbirth, can weaken the hold. Nerve problems, including those that follow diabetes or a stroke, can blunt the warning or the squeeze. Ongoing constipation, loose stools, hemorrhoids, a stretched rectum, or rectal prolapse can also be part of the picture. Age alone is not an explanation we stop at.

Bladder leakage and bowel leakage sometimes travel together. If urgency, urine leaks, or getting up at night are also part of your week, tell us at the same visit. Our pages on bladder leakage and overactive bladder treatment stay with those urinary symptoms, and the bowel side of the visit is handled here.

What a visit at Sandy Springs or Decatur is usually like

We start with when the leakage began, how often it happens, whether there is blood, black stool, fever, or numbness, and which medicines and surgeries you already have in your history. An exam is often part of that first appointment. We then talk through first-line steps such as fiber and diet changes, bowel retraining, pelvic floor work, and medication when those are reasonable, before we discuss a procedure.

Please bring a photo ID, insurance information if you carry it, a medicine list, and any prior colonoscopy, imaging, or pelvic-floor notes. If you live closer to Irvin Way, you can begin in Decatur. If Johnson Ferry Road is the easier campus, we will book you at Sandy Springs. Call 678-344-8900 and we will tell you the next opening we can offer at either office.

At Sandy Springs, the official office page names our urologists Vahan Kassabian, MD; Herman Bagga, MD, FACS; and Marc Greenstein, DO, along with the family nurse practitioner and physician assistants who work with them. At Decatur, the official office page lists physician assistants on the on-site team. If you would like the first appointment to be with a urologist, say so when you book and we will look at the Sandy Springs schedule. This page does not name a specific doctor as the person who performs an InterStim implant for bowel control, because official Advanced Urology pages on this condition do not assign the procedure to a named clinician at these offices.

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A video from Advanced Urology about bowel leakage

The official practice video below, Leaky Bowel? Regain Control from Fecal Incontinence, is background for a visit at Johnson Ferry Road or Irvin Way. We will still take your own history in the room.

When bowel leakage cannot wait for a routine visit

New bowel leakage together with numbness in the groin or legs, rectal bleeding, black stool, a fever, or a sudden change in bowel control should be handled in an emergency department or urgent care, or by calling 911, rather than waiting for a routine clinic slot. For leakage you can plan a visit around, call 678-344-8900 or book online for Sandy Springs or Decatur.

Treatments we already offer, including InterStim

Care usually starts with the conservative steps above. When those have not given enough control, Advanced Urology offers sacral nerve stimulation with the InterStim system for chronic fecal incontinence. Our InterStim for bowel control page explains the test phase, the two device options, and how a later implant is scheduled. Official background stays on Advanced Urology's fecal incontinence page and its neuromodulation therapy for fecal control page.

Questions people ask about bowel leakage

Is accidental bowel leakage the same as fecal incontinence?

Yes. Accidental bowel leakage, leaking stool, bowel incontinence, and fecal incontinence are names people use for the same problem: stool leaving the rectum when you did not intend it. We will use the words that match what you are noticing, and the evaluation at Sandy Springs or Decatur is the same kind of visit either way.

What happens at the first appointment?

We go through the pattern, review your medicines and prior tests, and often examine you. The plan usually starts with diet, bowel retraining, pelvic floor work, or medication when those fit. If an InterStim trial is a reasonable next step, we will explain that path rather than jump to an implant on day one. Bring a photo ID, insurance information if you carry it, and a medicine list.

Can I be seen in Decatur, or do I have to start in Sandy Springs?

You can start at either office. Both the Sandy Springs clinic on South Johnson Ferry Road and the Decatur clinic on Irvin Way evaluate and treat bowel leakage. If a later procedure needs a surgery center, we will tell you where it is scheduled and your chart travels with you.

When is this an emergency?

Go to an emergency department, urgent care, or call 911 if bowel leakage is new and comes with numbness in the groin or legs, rectal bleeding, black stool, a fever, or a sudden change in control. Leakage you can plan around belongs in a regular visit; call 678-344-8900 and we will look at the next opening.

Do you also treat urine leaks at the same time?

Yes. If bladder leakage, a sudden urine urge, or night waking is part of the same week, tell us at the visit. InterStim is also used for some bladder conditions, and we will say whether the bowel and bladder sides of your symptoms belong in one plan. See bladder leakage and overactive bladder treatment for the urinary side.

What if I have already tried fiber, pelvic floor work, or medicine?

Bring a list of what you tried and how it went. That history is how we decide whether to adjust conservative care or talk about an InterStim test phase. The InterStim for bowel control page walks through the trial and the two device options in more detail.

Call 678-344-8900 Book online