4 Weeks Post Fistulotomy - new absurd?

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hello all, hoping someone has some experience with what I am going through and can share their thoughts. 

Here are the details:

I have had issues with a perianal abyss since 2012. Mostly just having my colon/rectal surgeon drain it. This past March, it finally connected into my anus and became a fistula. I had what I believed to be successful surgery 4 weeks ago via a fistulotomy. I had my 3 week post op check with my doctor and everything was going well. A little drainage, but that was to be expected.

Yesterday, I got a too fimiliar pain in an area that is adjacent to where my current open wound is. That hard lump under the skin, that is sensitive to touch/sitting. This was the feeling I would get prior to the absyss popping or needing to go get it drained. 

So here I am 4 weeks posts fistulotomy and I feel like it was a waste. Has anyone one else who had a fistulotomy experiences this? Success rates are supposed to be over 90%. 

I do plan to call my doc first thing Monday AM but figured someone on this forum may have had similar experiences. 

Thanks in advance! 

1 like, 1 reply

1 Reply

  • Posted

    Hi John,

    Sorry to hear your troubles these things can be bad because of the location of the area as it's hard to keep it clean, it's not pleasant so I feel your pain!

    I had a fistula operation when I was very young I'm now 25 and unfortunately had to have surgery for a Peri anal abcess a few weeks ago, I'm fully recovered now and the wound has healed without flaw and not developed into another abcess (fingers crossed) the docs were certain it was a result of my prior fistula surgery however it has been 20+ years so not too bad.

    Abcesses can lead to fistuals and fistulas can lead to abcesses it's just one of those things I'm afraid, from what the doctors told me it's all about how it heals afterwards that determines whether you'll get another one. If you have to have surgery for your abcess make sure it heals perfectly and you should be ok, ask the nurses to use medical honey instead of packing it, this really helped me, after a week of packing daily it wasn't healing, they decided to fill the wound with honey and within 2 weeks it had fully healed! Also avoid bathing it I really don't think it helps the healing the surgeon said to keep the wound completely dry constantly!

    Going to the toilet is difficult as the wounds are so close, what i found helped was to use wet wipes specifically water wipes as they dont irritate the area, I was covering the dressing and wound with a wipe as best i could whilst going to the toilet to avoid it getting dirty and it seemed to work quite well.

    It's important to stay positive as it's an awful thing to go through but hopefully you'll come out okay and get life back to normal, hope sharing my experience helps!

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.