Sorry you have to wait til March!
Have you tried chinese medicine?
There's a chinese clinic in Toronto and one in Vancouver that say they can cure hemorrhoids, fissures and fistulas in a matter of weeks, depending on severity.
natcm.ca.
I live near the Vancouver one, but haven't called them yet. I am waiting til I hear what my crs says at the end of the month.
-Tanya

actually wait until march is my decision. My last surgery was in December and I think it has gotten worse then it was before. It is very frustrating and I am open to any/all options at this point so that I can get my life back. I live in Dallas. Do you know if the ship? My worry at this point is that i may have some underlying condition (though my CRS assures me that I am fine and that I am just unlucky).

Well from what I've read and been told about their procedure, you need to be there. They apply the salves themselves to the specific area every day. SO you would need to be nearby.
But maybe there is a similar clinic in Dallas?
Have you had a second opinion?
Your doctor sounds confident. I always like that in a doctor.
-Tanya

Hi tanya, yes i read the same thing on the link you send after i send my previous note. I will check and see if they have something similar in Dallas but I doubt it. I am thinking that I will give one more surgery a chance and then look at other options. As far as second opinion, everyone I have talked to so far (my family physician, 2 GS and 2 CRS) seem to think I have no underlying issues. My first surgery was done by GS and second by CRS. None of them even thought it was necessary to do a biopsy. I will make sure they do a biopsy after my 3rd surgery

Hey fistulaproblems, i'm so sorry to hear that you've had to have 2 surgeries for fistula! And now a third one! Have you been checked for Crohns? Did they do a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy before the first two surgeries? And what exactly went wrong with the first two procedures? Were you not healing well or was the fistula wound being closed before healing underneath? Fistula healing is quite tricky cuz the healing has to happen from the base upwards which is why a lot of us here were advised to stretch the wound as far as possible while cleaning. This should be done at least for the first 2 weeks. Plz try and find out what u may have been doing wrong during the healing process that the surgeries failed.

Hi Arafat, Thanks for writing. No..I havent had a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy. None of the doctors I have consulted think I need one. I asked about Chrons but was told that if i had Chrons, I would have other symptoms too. If my thrid surgery is not successful, I will insist on a colonoscopy. I really doubt if I have Chrons. Part of the world I originaly come from..Chrons is unheard of. All this started with an abcess in March of last year. My first fistula surgery was in June of last year. Things seemed like they were healing well for a while except for this one little spot on surgery site that never healed. My GS who performed the surgery send me to CRS for silver nitrate treatment but that didnt work either. I think my GS who performed the surgery left an infected tract but at this time I am only guessing. My second surgery was in Dec and performed by CRS. He had told me that there were 5% chances that I would need a second surgery as he had cut through and put stitches sphincter muscles and sometime stitches dont hold. When he saw me after 3 weeks of surgery he said the same thing. He said he saw something that didnt look right but should allow for more healing time. Now it is confirmed. Most of my wound has healed except for one small buton sized area from where it leaks poop, pus and blood. He has promised me that 3rd surgery will not be as massive as the secone one (where he had pulled out flesh that was out 4 inch deep and 2 inches in diameter). I think I have been doing everything right when it comes to post surgery care and have been seeing CRS regulary and following all guidelines (multiple sitz baths, keeping it clean, etc, etc). I am going to see yet another CRS again this Tuesday (for yet another opinion). I will post here what he has to say.

Hey fistulaprobs, sorry for the delay! How are u now? Whats the current situation with you?
An update on my situation (6 weeks post fistulectomy and LIS)
I had my 6 week follow up a couple of days back and the doc wrote 'healed up' on the medical form and said 'Go, enjoy life:)' I am a lot better of course and there is no pain but i certainly dont feel 100%. There is tightness, itching and some hardness on the LIS incision site which could be scar tissue. I've heard that scar tissure can cause a bit of discomfort sometimes but goes away eventually. There is minimal drainage that my doc thinks is just sweat trickling from inside which is normal. My fistula wound is well...no longer a wound as normal skin has fully formed there and the area is dry. I've been asked to discontinue sitz baths but i stioll follow my cleaning regimen after BM's. Right now, i'm cautiously optimistic that things are fine and pray that they remain so! Thanks for all ur help, specially u hopetoheal!

Hi Arafat, Thats awesome news!! It must feel great to get life back. Also, gives hope to some of us who have been struggling with this problem.
My situation...
I actually went to get an opnion from another CRS on 2/14 and he suggested that I get on operating table sooner rather than later as there was a lot of inflammation in and around the area of fistula. On 2/22 He performed examination under anesthesia and put a seton thread. Good news is that I did not feel any discomfort or pain after the procedure like after fistulectomy. Bad news is that I am going to have to deal with this for a few more months as seton will cut through sphrinter muscles and when it is low enough...I will have a simple fistulotomy. I know that there is no guarantee that this will be successful but will keep my fingers crossed. I will stick with my new CRS as he seems more thorough in his approach. He also took tissue sample from fistula for biopsy so we will find out if I have chrons, cancer or any other underlying issue. Thanks again for writing.

Hey Arafat! I'm so happy you are doing so well! Yippeee!!!
You're very welcome, of course :D

Life without pain is so wonderful. I know I'm not going to take that for granted again. :D I think you are doing great, especially for six weeks out. Scar tissue can cause some discomfort, but it does settle down after a while as the tissue softens. I had some very minor drainage for about six months after my fistulotomy, just wound exudate, but that's stopped now. These things take a long time to completely resolve, as you know, so it is really great that you are so patient and you know what you are doing. At the rate you are going, I'm convinced you will be 100% again soon. You're a great example for others here. :D
Fistulaproblems - I'm very glad that you have such a good new CRS. I was wondering if you would get a seton, and I'm glad you did. From what I've read, that is the safest way to go for deeper fistulas. I'm also really glad you are getting tested. I did a lot of research on fistulas when I had mine, and I didn't see anything about fistulas, by themselves, being caused by cancer. Of course, I'm not a doctor, so everything I say has to be taken with a grain of salt :) But I think I'd put cancer pretty far down on my list of things to be concerned about just now. There is such a thing as peri-anal crohns, which can be difficult to diagnose, because it is limited to the anus and so doesn't present with the typical systemic symptoms. Paulspain's posts provide great information about peri-anal crohns and setons. It does sound, though, like in your case crohns is pretty unlikely. I've heard (from friends and family) that diabetes can cause anal abscesses and fistulas. Maybe you can ask your doc about that?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there is no underlying condition - sometimes these things do happen and it's just a matter of bad luck. Good for you getting yourself to a good doctor! You've got a lot of spunk and you're very sensible, so you've definitely got what it takes to beat this! :D

Hi hopetoheal, Thanks for writing. I did read paulspains thread on perianal crohns. I guess we will find out as soon as I get biopsy results. I agree with you that chances of cancer is pretty low. I am a 37 year old male with no family history of cancer but I have also had a bunch of firsts in my family :D. I did look into diabetes. Actually, the hospital did CBC and Metabolic panel (which includes blood sugar) before my seton placement and I was told everything was normal. I also know that there are 2 blood tests for diabetes...one while fasting and other after a meal. I think I will go get both of them done once again just to be sure.
Another possible underlying issue that I am exploring is extra-pulmonary tubreculosis. Again...this is very rare in western countries but I am originally from India (where this is not so rare) so have to consider this a possibility even if I have been in US for 15 years. My CRS told me that tb/fistula is so rare that if that happens to be the case he will write a paper on my condition.
I have my first post-seton follow-up appointment on 6th March so I will find out more. Does anyone know how long does it take for biopsy results? I am wondering if I should bug my doctor or just wait until my appointment.
I will keep on posting my updates here. I have found others posts to be very useful and hope that some will find reading about my experiences helpful if/when they are having similar issues