Anyone had successful anal fistula surgery

I have had fistulotomy slightly over 6 weeks now but still have pain with Bowel Movements it gets swollen and hours after that have to clean as there is constant leakage, it is very depressing at this time though in the afternoon it gets back to normal and have no irritation and it is more comfortable after. I have been doing sitz baths with chamomile for wound care as antibiotic ointments mostly give me skin rash and allergic reaction (stopped neosporin now using fucidin again but both cause skin rash), I do not use lax as I my bowel goes out of control with those, try to eat high fiber food and plenty of water but can get constipated at times... as well as I have IBS and simultaneously taking medicine for it probiotics, antacids and some for ulcer treatment. I keep visiting the doctor and he tells me there is no sign of a recurrence of the fistula however, the wound is not healing as fast as it should and the leakage is yellowish-green, no pus, which he says it is a good sign, just prolonging the healing time as the wound is not being closed and he doesn't know why. His Answer? wait a little longer... I am very depressed at this moment I really want to know if this is normal and if it will heal over-time .

I live far from family, I have been for 6 weeks on my own, all I do is work and home (alone), trying to constantly clean. Socializing 0 at this point, it is driving me mental.

Please share your experiences.

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After hearing so many testimonies of multiple surgeries and pain, I wanted to share my experience in hopes that it could possibly help others find relief. I have been healed without surgery and this was verified by my colon rectal surgeon.

I want to start by specifying that my diagnosed fistula was the result of a hemmorhoidectomy, and not caused by Chron's or other digestive disorders. I do believe that it is important to eliminate the source of the infection to avoid re-occurrence. So my story may be only partially helpful to those with digestive disorders that are at the root cause of their problem.

I was diagnosed with a fistula during the follow up visits with the colon-rectal surgeon who performed my hemmorhoidectomy. I was obviously extremely disappointed, and I subsequently scheduled a visit with another colon-rectal surgeon who is rated in the top 1% of his field by US News and World Reports for a second opinion. He gave me the same diagnosis: fistula, and surgery was scheduled with a tentative date.

I found a few small studies that indicated Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was effective in healing similar conditions. I want to note here that the data set is extremely small, but to avoid surgery I was willing to try it:

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-86502016001300019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31154684

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22693080

For those considering attempting this, it is important to note that not all Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers are the same, nor are they all effective for this type of treatment. The most common chambers available are the "Soft Shell" type which cannot produce pressures above 1.5 [ATA]--DO NOT USE THE SOFT SHELL TYPE. The soft shell version has zero recorded effectiveness in treating fistula . The studies indicate pressures were used in excess of 2.0 [ATA] which require the use of the "hard shell" type which unfortunately is much more expensive.

My personal experience was Forty (2) hour sessions in a hard shell chamber at 2.0 [ATA]. I did these sessions mostly 6 days a week and couple of 5 day weeks. I really did not see improvements that were substantial until after about the 20th session. I should add here that in the beginning I did use in conjuction with HBOT an Infrared Sauna nearly 7 days a week fr 40 min-1hr a day. This raised my core body temp to ~100 deg F. to help fight infection. The swollen fistula area began to shrink in size during this time, and when it had reduced in size to not being noticeable I stopped the sauna sessions.

After all of this, my visit to the Surgeon resulted in his acknowledgement of the improvement and declared that surgery was no longer necessary. He was not willing to credit the HBOT with the healing, and said it just "healed on its own". Ironically he told me on his first diagnosis of the fistula where surgery was scheduled: "These things dont heal on their own". I can only say that before HBOT it was not healing on its own, and with HBOT it has healed completely.

I just had a fistulotomy 3 days ago. a straight up fistulotomy - no seton etc. i was all over the internet looking for people who have had one and how it went etc. Feels like you only hear about the bad experiences. I was absolutely terrified to have this surgery for all the appropriate reasons. Heard recovery was painful, being put under etc etc. i am here to report it was NOT THAT BAD! i wish i could have read one review like the one i am writing now so that it would have made me feel better about having to have it. Don't delay having if you need to have this surgery - the sooner the better. They put you completely under and then you wake up and it's all done. i went home an hour after surgery. The pain feels like you skinned your knee, but on your butt. There is light bleeding etc. I opted to treat the pain with advil since i was afraid of getting constipated with the strong pain meds. I think that was a good call. They made it sound like bowel movements would be very painful for the first 2-3 days. I didn't have one until day 2 and it was just fine. I was using miralax which i believe helped this. i have been resting at home for these past few days and am so relieved to share that this was not nearly as bad as i thought it would be. i plan on resting another couple days and then back to work and normal life again. please don't get haunted by all the horrible stories - some aren't that bad. good luck!

After 11 years of being healed from an anal fistula (started from a perianal abscess) I got another perianal abscess September 11th, 2019. I caught it really quick and had surgery on September 14th to open it up. On November 8th I could say it was finally healed. The surgeon did advise me that I could get another fistula but so far so good. 11 years ago mine was healed using a silk seton, took 6 months for the seton to actually fall out in the shower. The human body will slowly expel the silk, causing scar tissue, thus healing. Prior to the silk seton I had all of the "other surgeries" over 4 years to help heal. I would advise anyone with a fistula to get your surgeon to use the silk seton. I still have bowel issues, the area is always tender but not infected. I used heating pads, many soaks in the tub with hot water, plain epsom salts. The trick is to keep your butt super clean. Because of all of the procedures I have had I actually get in the shower after a bowel movement. Unfortunately for me I need either a bidet or a shower to keep the area clean. I was diagnosed years ago with IBS so this could be the reason for the abscesses?

Hi all. i would like to share some of my experiences and my own knowledge about anal abcess and fistula with people who are facing the same problem as i had 2 yrs ago.

First of all let me state clearly that im not a doctor or health care professional but i was a patient. So what im sharing with you is from my expreriences only and hoping this will help you cope with your problems in some ways if not all.

I had anal abcess about almost 2 years ago around june 2018. First i was treated with antibiotics but it didnt help. Next was the Lancing technique where they poked a hole squeezed out the puss and clean out then pack it to heal. which was okay for couple weeks then puss would generate or form again causing swelling redness pain and discharge around the anus again. Next was the surgery i think was called the pin rose technique where they open 2 holes both side close to the anus then insert like a seton or a string about one third inch from one hole to the other to keep the passage open to drain all the puss out for a few weeks then i come back when its clear of puss then they would cut off the string or pin rose and pack it with some special type of packing med to let the passage slowly close up to heal. The packing was painful 3 times a week.

But that didnt work either because in my case the abcess has formed a horse shoe shape around the upper area around thr anus so it was considered a complex abcess that has formed into a fistula which has a tract that that is infected and cant heal of antibiotics or pin rose surgery technique.

Now at this stage only thing left is to go to a colorectal surgeon who specialized in this area to get treated. And i was treated by a very able surgeon. He did a 2 stage fistulotomy which open the trac first. Let it drain out about 8 to 12 weeks then i came back in to get 2 stage to cut open the area and lay it open to heal for another 3 months or so to dry up and heal up. Im now 95 percent heal. Having my life back working and walking sitting around just like most people which is a wonderful thing to be able to do without painful swelling redness.

Here is my advise if i may. If you are having this problem seek a colorectal surgeon. They will cure you. But prepare yourself for the long treatment. Be patient. You will be cured. Stay clean. Buy abdominal pads 5x9 from walmart or walgreens for absorbtion of bleeding, puss or discharge. Hand sanitizer and soft kleenex. Along with a hand mirror about 4 to 6 inch tape to any type of box about 6 to 8 inch high so you can lay on your back to clean yourself with after getting out from shower afyer bowel movement or even changing packing or pads. Use mirror and some type of mail envelope or magazine to use as a fan to help dry out the groin anal area Also soak yourself in sitzbath after each bowel movement. Sit in warm water in bathtub mix with epson salt and little bit antibacterial foam soap about 10 to 15 min. Dont forget to start taking metamucil powder mix about 1 small teaspoon to an 8 oz water cup take after lunch or dinner to get normal soft bowel movement daily. This will help your symptom or recovering and healing.

I might have skipped lots of things because i cant remember everything that i had to go through last 2 years. It was rough. Not easy. There was pain, puss, swelling, bleeding, embarrassing, finance problem, stress, time conflict, all kinds. But stay hopeful and be patient while staying prepared and keeping clean and take metamucil while seeing a colorectal surgeon will give you a good result at the end.

For me there is some scarring and minor loss of bowel control. But for me i think that is to be expected because the infection is there and so was the cutting incision and everything else had to be done to get cured from this problem. Just happy to be fixed to rid of it.

Remember to talk to a colorectal surgeon to get treated. Ask them any questions or concerns you have before a procedure.

Best of luck to everyone who are facing this same problem as i did.

Hello everyone,

Dr diagnosed that I have fistula and it needs surgery. Any recommendations for the best surgeon will be really appreciated. I live in Toronto.

thanks in advance