Hi all,

I am currently weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to get LIS. While reading a lot of the posts on here is super helpful, I’m still having a hard time committing to surgery. My situation is this: I’ve had a fissure for a year now. I’ll have bad weeks, then some really good weeks, then maybe a bad day that causes pain for a few days after, followed by more good days- it’s basically a rollercoaster. I know my fissure is not fully healed simply because I’ll have bleeding and sharp pain recurrence JUST when I think things have healed up (this pain recurrence usually occurs after a few really good weeks). When not in pain, I’m still always hyperaware of my anal area (lots of tightness on a daily basis, some stinging usually). My question is this: should I get LIS for a fissure that doesn’t bother me 100% of the time? Is it worth it if I’m not always in pain? I’ve done practically all I can to heal on my own (diet changes, stool softeners, Miralax, nitro ointment) but clearly this fissure just won’t go away for good! My CRS has also told me that my whole area down there is very tight naturally due to my frame, so I’m not sure if LIS could help correct this, or if I’m taking too much of a gamble. I really just don’t know if surgery is too drastic a step for me, since I’m not in constant agonizing pain. Any advice is appreciated!

Serious question: How much will LIS surgery cost you? (insurance, deductable)

My insurance would cover half-75% and I would pay the remainder (no more than $1,000). It’s not ideal, but it is another factor I’m taking into consideration

I'm kind of in the same situation except I'm scheduled for surgery this Friday. When I saw CRS 2 weeks ago I was in severe pain. Now its healed quite a bit. Still there but very minimal pain now. I'm questioning myself should I do it or not. I don't want to live the rest of my life with discomfort in my rectum and worry about when it will open up again. So in your case I would ask myself "Am I willing to live with this forever?" I personally want off this rollar coaster ride. I want my life back.

Hey Layla, If you are on the fence about getting surgery, maybe give yourself four to six weeks before you schedule the surgery? you might heal up in that time, or at least decide its the correct decision for you. When I was going into surgery I thought that my fissure was healed, I was in that little pain and asymptomatic, however, I stuck with the plan because I was tired of it coming back (And I still had a fissure). From all the research I have done, once a fissure has reoccurred several times, surgery become the only permanent solution. The other thing to take into consideration is that the longer you wait, the deeper the fissure can become- you could develop a skin tag and thus require removal or a fissurectomy- this will make healing from LIS much harder and take longer. If you are naturally tight, my understanding is that LIS will make you looser.

Hey layla,
what makes a fissure so discouraging is the constant re-tearing. If you've had the fissure for a year now, surgery is your only way out. I struggled with mine for over 10 years. Of course I wasn't in constant pain, but the agony would always return. I understand the tight feeling as I was the same way. After my LIS and fissurectomy, going to the bathroom became so easy and natural. My advise, get the surgery and be done with it. Don't make the same mistake I did by letting this take over your life.

FissureLegend wrote:Hey layla,
what makes a fissure so discouraging is the constant re-tearing. If you've had the fissure for a year now, surgery is your only way out. I struggled with mine for over 10 years. Of course I wasn't in constant pain, but the agony would always return. I understand the tight feeling as I was the same way. After my LIS and fissurectomy, going to the bathroom became so easy and natural. My advise, get the surgery and be done with it. Don't make the same mistake I did by letting this take over your life.

ive just had my lis 2 days ago.. can u please tell me ur experience after the surgery and any advices to recover fast ?

hopeful- happy to hear you got the surgery. I know it’s not an easy decision to make.
I’d recommend reading as many posts in this forum as possible. I personally have posted several about my recovery since my operation in early August. Everyone is on a different scale in terms of recovery time, and I was lucky to be on the quicker side. I am relatively young (30) and healthy, so I’m sure that played a role in my quick healing time.
If you’re only on day two, then I’m sure you’re still in some pain. Just make sure you keep up the fiber supplements, drink A LOT of water, and keep big meals to a minimum. Of course you need your strength so don’t starve; but I made it a point to only eat soft foods (smoothies, soups, etc) for the first week.
I was basically pain free after day 5 or so. However, the one symptom that my CRS didn’t emphasize enough was the wound leakage. If you dare take a mirror and look at the surgical site, you’ll see it’s just an open incision. It takes 6 weeks or so to stop “weeping.” Don’t get discouraged about this. I had zero pain after the 1st week but had to wear pads until week 4-5.
Good luck with the recovery!

thank you FissureLegend !
im trying to read every post i can ,im glad i found such forum,hope we all get to the peaceful life again.
im also 31 and have been on regular clean diet . i can start feel less pain with regular analgesics ,and i found it helps to soak in hot bath before bm and right after .
i do still have this leakage ,and i did looked at the mirror ,i saw 2 small lumps that are so tender and painful to touch ,even painful when i try to rub lidocaine over them ..today i noticed one of the lump healed ,hope the other will soon..
thank you so much for support!