I posted my story elsewhere on these forums, but I thought I'd give a brief summary here (I don't believe this thread existed last time I logged on).  Anyway, long story short, I had the fissure from Hell.  It plagued me for three years, on and off again.  There was a period where I only slept for a couple of hours a night for over three months -- too painful to sleep.  Heaven forbid if I had to use the bathroom -- I'd be in agony for over half the day afterwards.  Nightmarish!
I was scared to get LIS because of stories of incontinence, so I put it off, and tried lots of folk remedies, which did little or nothing.  Finally took the plunge, and from the second I woke up until today (two years later), I have not had any fissure pain to speak of.  No blood in the stool, no unbearable stabbing pains, no incontinence, nothing.  I felt kind of bruised for about two days, and then I felt normal.  Along with marrying my wife, I would rank LIS as the best decision I have ever made.  It gave me my life back.

I am glad you did it!

It's now my second day post-op and I'm hopeful. Thanks for telling us about your experience with LIS, I hope I have as much success as you!

I just finished reading your posts on your surgery MattMecham. I too am scheduled to have LIS in a few days. Thank you for sharing your experience.. It gives me hope that I can be healed after surgery and maybe become a success story as well! :)