Hi all! I went to my surgeon today for a consult about surgery. She prodded around and felt the tender spot to the left of the midline. She said she felt a ridge of skin there and said it was probably time to do something. I've been fighting this on and off since 3/09. She said she would do a fissurectomy and sphincterectomy. I had a tentative date of 12/21 so I can do this over my winter break from teaching and hopefully recover by 1/3 when I go back. I guess it's surreal to think I'm finally going to do this. And, of course, I'm scared to death. She told me I could try the cream again (dialtizam), and there wasn't anything to say that it couldn't still heal, but that she wouldn't know for sure until I was under and she could look sufficiently at it. Does this sound par for the course for everyone? Shish, I wish I could just fast forward a couple of months and this would be a memory, but I know that 's just wishful thinking!!! Thanks for any advice you can give me. I love reading all the threads and hearing about the (good) experiences!!! It does give me hope.