Hello all,
I am somewhat of a veteran of this site having had fissures for almost 3 years. I have had botox, fissurotomy, fistulotomy etc and nothing seems to have worked. I had an op a month ago and am in incredible pain again at the moment. I went to my doctor last night and he doesn't think LIS will be offered to me. He said there is a huge risk of incontinence and seemed very negative. I have my follow-up on 7th January and intend to push for LIS then as it seems the only option left to me. I'm only 30 and can't accept that this is it for me and that I have to suffer like this for the rest of my life like my doctor seems to think I will. As you can imagine I feel extremely down and upset about it all and thought the positive thing I can do now is research the LIS and get others experience to help me make my decision. Also to help me persuade the CRS to to the operation. Any advice/help/experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Sue,

I just realised you've aged by three years and i'm guessing the sue27uk account became inactive!

You've not had an easy time and really deserve to get this thing out of your life once and for all. So LIS..... well you probably remember my diary and i was fortunate enough to heal in two weeks following my surgery (it was confirmed as fully healed at 4 weeks). It is now a year and a half later and (touching wood) i have not had any problems since - it was like a miracle cure for me. Naturally though everyone is different and what is best for me might not be best for everyone else. So it is important that you listen to your consultant and follow his best course of action.

The incontinence risk is completely over blown, i discussed this at length with Mr Windsor and he said that with the right surgeon the risk is almost zero. He has never had anyone develop incontinence and if he felt there was any risk of this he would refuse to operate. There is a slight reluctance however to operate on females of child bearing age but it would all depend upon the severity of your fissure.

So the risk of incontinence.... here is a post of mine from last year:

"I know that this is the main worry when having LIS surgery therefore i thought i would post the NHS (UK) information showing their incontinence statistics following LIS. Basically they said that 1 in 10 people will suffer some mild incontinence in the first two months following surgery however this is only permanent in 1 in 200 (0.5%) This is the quote: Around 1 in 10 people will experience bowel incontinence after having surgery due to damage to the anal muscles. This means that they will lose some control of their bowel movements. However, it is usually a mild type of incontinence where the person is unable to prevent themselves from passing wind, and they may also experience some mild soiling"
The symptoms of incontinence usually improve in the first few months after surgery and resolve with two months. However, in around 1 in 200 cases the incontinence is permanent"

How confident are you of your doctor? If you are not 100% comfortable with him i would maybe get a second opinion.

On a final note fissures are not chronic or for life and this thing will eventually go away so keep your chin up and let us know how you get on

Davo

Aw Sue,

Sorry to read your post, it won't always be like this & I wish you all the very best in making your decision and in your journey to get through this.........You have been on this site for so long & been a part of so many experiences that you just deserve to move on! In your position and 3 years on, I don't think I would hesitate about opting for LIS either, having been through so much already. It was great to see Davo here and read his words of advice & I would definitely agree with his comments on the Incontinence issue, having read pretty much the same thing recently. Of course, there's always a slight risk with any surgery, but sometimes you just have to take a risk in life to get where you want, I guess....
I'd say when you go back, push for LIS as much as you can and make your feelings clear & the fact you do not want to suffer anymore......If you get to the stage where they decide to offer you LIS option, then you don't need to go for it immediately. If you have any doubts or worries, it will just buy you time to do a bit more research, ask a few more questions, but you will have the reassurance at the back of your mind, that they WILL treat you when you have finally decided it is the option you want to take. I think you just need to see a way out Sue - for your own sanity! .....
Hopefully lots more will pop by now to offer you their own thoughts too, but also trust your own instincts about what you need to do and go with them (You know your body best) x x

Hi Sue,
I am so sorry you have been suffering so long. Go with your instinct, and if the CRS won't end this for you, then seek a second opinion. It sounds like you have tried all other methods of healing. My CRS is also very reluctant to do LIS, I did heal with Botox, but have another monster now... He said I have another 60 plus years left and to start messing back there could cause more problems later on, but like you I am struggling to accept that I live with this day in day out! and he thinks I can heal naturally.. I go back in Jan too, and you know what the waiting times are like on the NHS. Davos post is reassuring, and there are CRS out there who are confident enough to do it knowing the result will be okay. Good luck to you and keep us posted... Xxxx Rachael.

Hi I don't know if you have seen my posts but the surgeon I saw prefers Botox + VY advancement flap to LIS. I had this earlier this year and it has healed the fissure for me. This is a link to appropriate bit of his website http://www.bristolsurgery.com/SectionCo ... ionid=195# Just be aware there are some photos that may be TMI.

Thank you for all your comments! Yes, you're right Davo I have aged 3 years! My other account didn't work so set this one up. Thank you for your thoughts on LIS. I remember reading your posts but it was about a year ago now wasn't it. ETO, as ever thank you for your support and help, it may be a risk worth taking but we shall see. Rachael I'm sorry to hear that, I also had a fissure which I had a fissurotomy and botox for and, after getting a fistula in between, now have another fissure. I don't know whats causing it as am still having soft bm. I'm confusing the docs!! Dent1, I will look at that site to see what it says. Things haven't been too bad over the past week, it seems to have improved a bit. Still got the pain but not so bad. Decided against the rectogesic again for the minute as got a terrible migraine so intend to restart it in half term if needed. At least then I could rest if the headaches take hold!! I will keep thinking and researching, thank you all for your responses. Will update this if and when there is any more news :) xx

Hi Sue,

I think you need to find a CRS who you trust and ask for their honest opinion. If you are doing your own research make sure you stick to the big bona-fide websites such as the NHS. There are so many medical websites showing out of date and wrong information and this can negatively influence your decision.

The other thing i noticed is that most people only post their experiences when things go wrong, if the operation is a success they just want to continue living their lives and forget about the past (I guess i am the exception to this!!!) so take blogs and the negative reviews with a pinch of salt.

You are at a time in your life when you should be enjoying yourself and not worrying about your next toilet visit, how much water you have drank and if you have eaten enough fibre. So if you find a surgeon you are happy with and he recommends LIS then i wouldn't think twice personally.

For me life is great again, i go to the gym, eat steak, get drunk... basically everything you're not meant to do with a fissure and i love it. Having a fissure was the lowest point of my life but it has made me appreciate life more now and has helped me understand the importance of fibre and staying hydrated.

So good luck in whatever you decide Sue and when that damn fissure of yours heals let me know and i'll get you a pizza and bottle of champers delivered :-)

Davo

Just to reassure -the CRS I saw in Bristol is an NHS surgeon who often sees and re treats people who have had previous surgery that has failed. He teaches complex laparascopic surgery to other surgeons, participates in research and his website is up to date and has been the most useful and helpful source of information for me.

Hi Sue30uk,

How are things for you these days? Did you opt for LIS?