Hi all,

I (29M) had a lay open fistulotomy performed in early Nov 2021. This past week (Feb 2022) I had my 3 month check up. During the checkup my doctor has said that it is still healing. He said he would like to do another surgery, to help deal with granulated tissue. I am a bit apprehensive about doing another surgery, as simply put, I fear it will just continue to prolong my healing process (as I'd be starting at zero again basically).

Since my surgery in Nov, I have experienced almost no pain/inflammation that I can tell. Quite honestly, I feel my healing was going quite smoothly (no issues making bowl movements, no huge amounts of blood, etc). Furthermore, weeks ago I stopped wearing gauze pads as the discharge is essentially nonexistent.

My question is, has anyone had a fistulotomy that healed on its on, after 3 months? My doctor said there is a 50/50 chance that it would. He said we can check back in in 3-4 months and assess from there.

Any other insight would be helpful. It is nice to not feel so alone through this process...and I want to remain hopeful my body can heal without another surgery.

Broken, see my most recent post, just now. Everyone is different, but my simple fistulotomy surgery went well, and I am very close to normal after 6 weeks with only minor drainage issues. If you are not experiencing major symptoms, why start from square one again? Just my 2¢.

PNW wrote:Broken, see my most recent post, just now. Everyone is different, but my simple fistulotomy surgery went well, and I am very close to normal after 6 weeks with only minor drainage issues. If you are not experiencing major symptoms, why start from square one again? Just my 2¢.

As I am not experiencing any major symptoms, I am feeling the same mindset quite honestly. I am a vegetarian, don't smoke cigarettes, think I consume enough water daily, and am not straining with bowel movements (I have upped my fiber intake considerably), etc. This past week I've decided to up my Vitamin A + C intake via supplements, in hopes that may also help me with healing. Crossing my fingers I can get through this without additional surgery. The wound is slow to heal, but honestly considering where it is, I assumed a full recovery would take awhile.