I am scheduled for LIS plus fistulotomy this coming Friday. I am a medical professional with close contact with patients all day in a quiet room. The thought of post-op accidents with gas and worse has me really concerned. I have a two month history of fissure, then abscess, then superficial fistula. My pain scale ranges from awareness to mild annoyance at this point. I am told the fistulotomy will not involve cutting muscle.

I can find success rates and incontinence rates for LIS, but not for flatal incontinence. Has anyone seen this published?
Can the fistula ever go quiet or is it always a source of sepsis when untreated?
Any advice from post surgical readers?

Thanks for the advice.

I have never had a fistula, but have had a fissure and have had Botox and LIS, with Botox I did have a bit of gas escaping without me choosing but certainly not with LIS. In fact for about 12 weeks after LIS I actually had to force gas out and I could often become a bit bloated as I could only get gas out if I was lying on one side.
If you are being advised to have LIS then my advice is to go ahead with the op, it’s not a massive op and I haven’t seen members on here that have suffered long term with not being able to control gas. Fissures and fistulas can sometimes get worse if they are left and although that is a small minority is it worth the risk.
On a side note as a patient it wouldn’t bother me if a professional passed wind, it would make them seem a bit more human.
Good luck with whatever you decide