First off thank you to everyone who put this forum together and all the people who post here. All of your threads and replies already answered so many questions and made me feel like I'm not alone in this! I'm sorry if this is a common thread, but its so hard not to get worried over this stuff

I had a fistulotomy 3 weeks ago today, it was a superficial one, no seaton etc. Two days after surgery I didn't need any pain killers at all, 5 days after surgery there was only pink spotting on the gauze. One week after surgery I went for a follow up and doc said it was looking really good and to stop using gauze. He said it was healing so well I can come back in 6 weeks, but "if you're feeling fine, feel free to cancel the follow up".

A week and a half ago, there was zero blood/pink on toilet paper. But I am still getting a tiny blot of odorless puss on toilet paper (like 1/2 of a penny width) if I press the paper up against it. So thanks to this forum I've read countless "is puss normal?" threads and it seems like its normal for this to happen for weeks after...

But today I noticed a tiny spot of blood on the tp when I pressed the paper against the opening (wasn't after a BM). Zero pain, but a little bit of blood spotting.

So is it normal for blood to *return*? I have been getting my finger in there the last 4 days during shower (before it was too tender), could it be related to that?

I think that the discharge can also be pink, and continue for some tme. Why are you using a finger there? Are you doing dilation?

Hi and thank you for the response! It was definitely like red-red blood when I pressed the TP against it, actually I was sort of sticking the paper inside there.

As for the shower/finger thing - I thought that was what you're supposed to do, like get clean water in there if you can etc... maybe I should just leave it alone? I feel so stupid doing this sort of mistake, no one at the hospital told me to put a finger there, I just got curious and felt the wound a bit the last few days (its like a dent/pocket). There has been no blood at all the last few hours (just the usual bit of puss).

I think you should be a little more gentle with yourself. No sticking toilet paper anywhere except gently against to clean, and then possibly finish off in the shower. No excess pressure unless the doc says so...

Have a read at these fistula success stories: fistula-success-stories-f34.html

!00% agree with Savaici. Be very gentle and allow healing to happen naturally. No need to press toilet paper or your finger in there to clean. It does seem strange that our bodies can possibly heal with fecal material near or present, but it does if you are gentle and using water to allow the area to be rinsed.
Not unusual to have a spotting of blood too. It is likely that it is still in it's early stages of healing and may have opened just a tad. Even when you are doing all things perfectly right it's part of the process.

In another few weeks you'll see a lot more healing as well. Hang in there!

Thank you both for your responses/support, I am feeling a lot better about this. The blood never came back other than that one time. But thanks again for the kind words/support, its weird - you'd think I'd feel that everything was OK when the doc told me so, but somehow having a complete stranger on a forum made me feel more confident that everything is ok. Go figure, I don't know why that is, but you all did make me feel a lot better. :)

I don't know if I should start a new thread, but I went for my 6 week follow up today. He said there shouldn't be any pus at all (there is a tiny smear if I press toilet paper against the anus) and said they might have to put me under anesthesia to see if its a deep fistula! So he said we'll wait 6 weeks and see how it heals, but he doesn't think it will go away on its own.

Obviously I'll be doing whatever the doc says, I just wanted to know what you guys think about this. Is it really that strange to have a tiny smear of pus on TP 7 weeks post surgery? I told him it was actually less and less the past few weeks, like down to a trace amount. My face turned red when he told me about going under and how it would be more healing this time, I got so scared!

EDIT: Here is the pic I showed him (since it only appears once/twice a day):
http://imgur.com/7c6oRXv.jpg

(dime and quarter for scale)

I will be 4 weeks post-op tomorrow and I am still seeing a small amount of yellow discharge. I am seeing my CRS in two weeks but was having the same questions/concerns as you regarding whether the discharge is normal. My surgery was superficial as Fistula surgeries go so I would have thought that I would be 100% by now.

I think our medical charts would look the same! Mine was also superficial according to him after the initial surgery, so I wonder how it could go further deep after he already opened up the tract/cleaned it out etc. The discharge is less and less each week, but after my visit (where he and a nurse opened the area etc.) I did have some red bleeding on the cotton ball they put in there after. But zero blood for the last six weeks and zero today.

I'm really hoping the discharge goes away 100% and I have this whole thing in my past once and for all. If you can, update this thread when you see your CRS in 2 weeks? I'm curious about a 2nd doctors POV on trace discharge after 6 weeks.

I had my 6 week follow-up with my CRS this week. I am still experiencing a small amount of yellow discharge which is due to the scar from the fistula not being 100% healed. He is happy with my progress and feels it is just a matter of time until the discharge stops. Over the past week, I can tell that it has decreased so I am hopeful that over the next 2 - 4 weeks, I will see a marked improvement.

afsguy300 - How is your progress?