Hi,
Been a reader of this forum since 11/14. It has been helpful and answered many questions and I would like to thank you all. Had fistulotomy 12/14 and it has taken a long time to heal. Saw my doc three weeks ago and according to him after all looked well except for a portion of the incision that was over granulizing and applied silver nitrate to part of the wound. Things were going well until Thursday morning when I discovered blood on my underwear near area the wound site. My first thought was that the wound was irritated by my underwear and the wound bleed. Friday afternoon went on a brisk walk and it felt weird near the wound and a little more blood. Woke this morning to find more blood is the same spot as Thursday. Has anyone had a similar experience? I thought this was about over my not I am concerned that something is wrong. Have an appointment this coming thursday but am very anxious. Thanks

I wish I could offer an explanation or advise to you. All I can say is that I am sorry this has happened to you and that I have been having a similar experience. I had an infection laid open 3 months ago and I am still bleeding on and off from it and am still having a lot of pain and spasms. Are you having pain with the bleeding? It could just be that after the silver nitrate things were weakened again and it will take time for that tissue to regenerate and strengthen again. New tissue down there can be so delicate, I wouldn't think that this is that unusual or anything to be too concerned about. Do let us know how things go for you on Thursday and I hope your Doctor finds things are still progressing.

msimon, thanks for your reply it really does take a along time for these things to improve.sorry to hear about your pain and spasms. Have you spoke with your doc about the pain? Fortunatley no pain just the bleeding like yourself.

Thanks Tubby. I have talked to my CRS and he says because part of the incision was so close to the anal verge that it is behaving like a fissure which, even though I had LIS (a conservative one), I am still having spams all over down there. I am also having zapping pain which I suspect is nerves. Did you have any of this? Did you have LIS?

My CRS said he doesn't know why it isn't healed yet but is still hopeful that it will. He doesn't have any other ideas. I could ask for botox but have not had the greatest success with it in the past. I think I'll stick with the fissure ointment for now. I have a follow up this Wednesday but am thinking of pushing that forward because he pries so hard it would definitely hurt my healing progress.

Did you have a simple fistulotomy? Did it go internal? How long and deep do you think it was?

My operation was a simple Fistulotomy and the length on the outside incision was about 2 inches and depth was about 3/4 of an inch. The incision did go internal but not sure how far. Had a fissure 20 years ago but it was not real bad and healed without surgery. When you see your doc let me know how you are doing. Thanks

Saw my Doc (general surgeon) and was infornmed that he thinks my fistula has retiurned. Suggested a colonoscopy and said that right now this is just an inconvinience. Contacted a colorectal surgeon today and have an appointment for a second opinion. I am 49 years old and I think I am heallthy except the fistula, a fissure about 20 years ago and hemorrhoids.

Definitely a good idea to get the second opinion, in my opinion. I personally wouldn't think a colonoscopy would help with a fistula. You need an experienced CRS for that as they use probes and such.

I had an appointment with my CRS yesterday that I rescheduled for another 3 weeks away. He pulls so hard on things to look and I didn't feel healed up enough for that yet. Couldn't risk him making things worse at this point. He is very confident the infection is gone and I shouldn't worry about that.

Do you know how you got your fistula? I thought they usually occur after a surgery, abscess, or fissure...

What made him think it came back? Do you have puss or just blood? DId the bleeding get any better?

The blood makes him think it returned and he did an examination as well. I am very frustrated and worried. Glad to hear your doc think he got all of the infection. My fistula was a result of an abscess that was drained surgically. Should have gone to a colorectal surgeon to begin with but I trusted my GP who referred me to the general surgeon.

Hi Tubby,

I am very sorry about your unfortunate circumstance. But, the good news is, a CRS should be able to fix it. My GP immediately sent me to my CRS to get the abscess drained and I returned to him to have the fistulotomy 2 months later. So long as its a simple low fistula you should be just fine and it should have a very low chance of recurring (around 5%, in other words...not high enough to worry). I know its hard, I can't express how depressed and anxiety-filled I was when I found out my abscess had indeed become a fistula. But it will get better, particularly if you are in otherwise good health.

I understand the frustration and worry Tubby. When is your appointment with the CRS? Hopefully they will be able to give you some better information and care, should you need it.