Hi all. I'm 10 weeks out from my fistulotomy surgery.

As of week 7 and my CRS my wound had healed.

I am currently having good days that are mostly pain and discomfort free and also bad days which are far less nowadays but they can be discouraging and stressful. I think its the scar that is still fully healing and hurting. Is this possible?

My question is being a few weeks out from surgery......will the pain and discomfort get better with time?

Even though a wound has healed.....can it take many weeks or even months to fully heal (from the stinging / slight burning discomfort)?

Also.....I'm not applying any skin creams or currently taking sitz baths any longer. Any opinions?

Thank you for your replies.

Hi Mike,

I’m 13 weeks since my surgery and experiencing the same thing. The surgeon said it had healed but I’m still experiencing some pain and discomfort as well as pain from the incision site. I’ve read a few other people saying it took them about a year to fully feel better and feel 100% healed.

I hope you begin to feel 100% ASAP! We’ve gotten through the hardest part which was pre sugery and surgery, so we can definitely get through the waiting game too. Best of luck!

Thanks for replying UghWhy. It gives me reassurance I'm not losing my mind worrying about it so much at this point. I suppose even at 3 months post surgery and "healed" we can't expect to be feeling 100%.

Still having some irritation awhile after a bm and some constant slight stinging here and there. Can sit bit prefer not too long as still uncomfortable. Also finding still needing some light cleanup after a bm an hour or so later. I was pretty constipated for 2 months going once every two and even 3 days but last 2 weeks seems I'm becoming regular at once a day.

I think the spasms have died down a bit. Not like pre and shortly post op.

Are you using any creams or ointments?
Still doing any sitz baths?

Hope you feel better each and every coming day.

Wish some more members (ols and new) would chime in. Would really like to hear your experience.

Your reply is also exactly what I’m experiencing! It’s nice to know other people are experiencing similar things although I wish we were better. I’m finding I need to clean up after a bm a few times throughout the day. I’m not doing any ointments but I just recently started the sitz because I now have a stomach bug that has worsened my incision pain

How ard you feeling UghWhy?

Hope you're over the stomach bug.

I actually have salmonella!! My incision site is killing me and am going to the bathroom at least 7 times a day :’( thanks for asking

This is terrible news UghWhy!

How did this happen? ! Have you seen a doctor and are you taking any medication for this?!

So sorry to hear. Get well soon!

so- not much help here- I had a fistulotomy April '17. Previous fistulotomy 25 years earlier due to post childbirth issues.
I was "healed" within a few mos. But I have a good size internal scar where the inside opening of fistula was found and it periodically hurts a lot. It seems to be from too many bowel movements in a day- I have IBS and get flairs. I have been told that then scat tissue is irritated. Once in a while I have had a spot of blood. The surgeon told me that basically I have a scar that breaks down easily and to expect discomfort at times with bowel movements for life. He sees no infection (I always worry about an abscess.) But the other day he said my physiology was abnormal ( I would have preferred surgically altered...) and to accept it. He said he could do a advancement flap- but doubted it would help and they often fail. And my spot is in quite a ways. So kind of a bummer.

Thank you for your reply Zinnia. It good to hear from you.

I'm sorry you are still having these issues. I really hope they clear up for you.

Did you have any issues after your first fistulotomy 25 years ago?