Hi everyone,
I know that this forum is for fissures, but through the internet I saw that there were questions being asked about fistulas. I had an peri-anal abscess that was surgically drained about a month ago. Since then I noticed that the incision never healed and it would periodically drain and sometimes bleed a bit. I was hesitant to return back to the surgeon because he is not a very nice man and was very aggressive with me during consultation and surgery. He also gave me no after-care after the surgery, so I've been fumbling through this experience all on my own this whole time.
However, after trying to go the gym and leaving because of all the pain I decided I needed to go back to see the surgeon. Today I had my appointment and after taking a look at the incision he said I had a fistula. He then proceeded to tell me what my options were. He said that he could insert a tube into the opening of the incision and comes out through my anus and that would help with the pain and collecting drainage but he said it would not cure the fistula. He also said that there were other procedures but it involved cutting into the muscle which can be particularly risky for females. He also told me I could do nothing about it and just continue to have this open incision drain for the rest of my life.
Obviously none of what he said is particularly comforting. If I have any procedure done I want it to be to fix the problem. A big part of my life is going to the gym and exercising and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and I haven't been to the gym for 4 weeks because it is too painful. I've been reading stuff on the web about fistulotomy and I am unsure of how common this is and how risky it is. I heard that there is the risk of incontinence which also terrifies me and makes me think that living with a draining incision must be better than spending the rest of my life with incontinence.
Any input or information you can give to me is greatly appreciated. I live in Toronto and I'm not sure if I should seek the help of another surgeon and get a second opinion?
Thank you in advance!