Need to decide if I should have surgery

Concerned about incontenance

Are you having, or have you had a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy (LIS)? Please share your experiences here, or ask any questions.

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Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Broncosgirl » 03 Mar 2015, 19:19

My anal fissures began about 6-8 weeks ago. I had two weeks of pain so bad I wished each day I would die before I had to use the restroom. The amount of blood in the toilet made it look like I was bleeding to death. I started diltiazem 3 weeks ago. I've had a day or two pain free only to experience pain again the next day. My CRS said I have two fissures both of which he described as shallow. He felt they would heal quickly.

I called him today to tell him one of them has still not healed and he said, "let's do surgery". Its scheduled for the 9th of March right now.

On one hand I really want to do the surgery because I want my life back. I have a 4 month old baby and it has been consuming my thoughts and making it hard to enjoy her. On the other hand I don't want to have surgery if it means a life of gas incontenance. Not worth it yet.

I was wondering others experiences. I am a 30 year old active woman and have had one vaginal birth. My doc said my sphinter tone is good and on the high end for women. i don't want to continue to drag this out for months and I never want to go through this again but I don't want surgery if the risks are high...
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby chachacha » 05 Mar 2015, 20:48

Have you asked your CRS what his success rates are? My surgeon told me that he's never left a patient incontinent and has been doing the LIS procedure for about 30 years now. Other success rates posted on the internet suggest an 1.5% to 30% rate, but I honestly don't think that the higher number represents permanent loss of control. I could be wrong though, and perhaps certain surgeons just aren't very good at what they do. If your surgeon tells you that you are a good candidate, and that he doesn't have many failures on the continence front, that might help you to make a decision.

Welcome to the board and good luck! I hope that things improve for you soon, whether you are able to heal naturally, or go the surgical route.
Fissure since about 2007
Fissure diagnosed in 2011
Diltiazem for two years - didn't work well
LIS January, 2015
Hemorrhoidectomy December, 2017
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Bailey » 12 Mar 2015, 18:58

Did you have your surgery? How are you doing?
Diagnosed anal fissure October 2014
Tried nifedipine - fissure seemed to be healing but reoccurred January 2015
Switched to Nitro and started Resoralax - Beginning of March 2015
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Broncosgirl » 12 Mar 2015, 20:10

Thanks for checking in. I have surgery scheduled for a week and a half from now. I feel excited about it actually because I feel like I am about to get my life back.

I have some reservations though. My CRS suggested I wait another month just to see if things improve. I've had the fissure for 2 months and have been doing meds and diet for 5 weeks with an improvement/set back cycle. I don't want to wait another month and then just have to have surgery anyway. I also don't want to do a risky surgery because I am impatient... It just doesn't feel like I have made any progress in the last 5 weeks and so I don't know why that would change with more time.
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Bailey » 12 Mar 2015, 20:54

I'm in the same place - except it's been five months of healing and re injury. I wish you luck with your surgery. Sending positive vibes your way...
Diagnosed anal fissure October 2014
Tried nifedipine - fissure seemed to be healing but reoccurred January 2015
Switched to Nitro and started Resoralax - Beginning of March 2015
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Broncosgirl » 12 Mar 2015, 21:47

Do you have surgery scheduled yet? 5 months would feel so long! I hope you heal soon and I will keep you updated on how it goes on this end.
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Re: Need to decide if I should have surgery

Postby Broncosgirl » 21 Mar 2015, 10:42

So, my pain has been getting worse the last few days. For the past month on Nitro and diltiazem I have seen no improvement and now the pain is ramping up again. It's also lasting for a long time after a BM.

My BMs have been perfect for the last 6 weeks. Soft and well formed, easy to pass. I have not had a single bad BM. Should I assume at this point that the meds are not going to work when things are just getting worse after almost 7 weeks of use?
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