Come on in, and help our admin! They also need our input u know. SO, please ask our Val what's wrong and help her, she really needs us right now!! Cheers Guys xxx

??? will keep typing till she gets some help! Not trying to be a pain, just keeping her top of the list ok!! Val, as u do or do not know has helped thousands and now she needs us... no replies... I will chime in and annoy the hell outta ya

I'm confused
Val, how are things going??

aww thank you Andrea!
Well, this will be a long story............
in march this year I had a really bad retear, which led to a fistula in may. I had the fistula laid open on june 15th.
I went privately, to the surgeon who did my previous LIS, low fistula surgery, and skintag removal in january 2008. I knew he was good and trusted him........!
Before the op in june, my CRS told me that I would probably need a seton. He wouldn't know exactly until I got to theatre. When I awoke from the op, I was told that the fistula had just been laid open. So I assumed it was just a low fistula, and a few days later I rang the secretary asking why they had charged me hundreds extra for a high fistula operation. She said it was a high fistula and there was a report to my doctor to confirm that.
I have always questioned WHY was a high fistula just laid open, but haven't got anywhere - my GP even said that setons were dated and laying it open was the best solution WTF!!
Anyway, about 10 days after surgery, I had a bad infection in the wound and was put on antibiotics, which did help, but didn't eradicate it completely. My CRS saw me, tried to do an internal exam, but hey, it was 10 days after surgery and it was infected - OUCH!! I wriggled so much, he gave up, and said if it didn't improve then he would arrange an mri.
Well, to cut a long story short - I went to my gp for something unrelated and asked out of curiosity about the fistula op (which was when he told me about setons being outdated) He showed me the letter my CRS had written to him which in not so many words said that I thought I had a fistula, but there was no sign of one and I was a big baby for not letting him examine me properly!
So, then I had my after-surgery check up a couple of weeks ago. I told him I still had symptoms of a fistula and he arranged the MRI.
When we arrived for the MRI, I read the report from my CRS, which said there was a seton in place!! I questioned that and the nurse said she would question the CRS.
Well, I went back to him this week - and my MRI report said "there is a seton in place" It said there was "lymph activity" but my CRS said there was no fistula.
When I actually had the MRI, the nurse told me afterwards it was a good thing that I'd had the MRI done privately so quickly as there was "an area" but she didn't know if it was active.
So now, when I questioned the CRS, he said the LIS scar might look like a seton on the MRI. He has given me salbutamol and said to "use this new cream (diltiazem!!) for a week!" He told me how the muscle can get tight and prevent healing. I said "I have had LIS". He said, "oh, I dont ever cut anything, it can lead to incontinence!"
I'm totally confused. I KNOW I have a fistula - it fills up, and hurts, drains pus, bleeds, then feels better, sharp stabby pain. I've had 2 of the little buggars, I know what they feel like. I dont know why he is saying it's not there, when it is.
Trouble is, he's THE top surgeon at the private hospital, and the NHS one, how can I argue with that?? I don't know what to do, or who to make an appointment with!
He gave me my last consultation free, and more or less said we wouldn't have to pay if he did another surgery, but now suddenly, I have a report which says I have a seton in, and he says there is nothing wrong.......hmm............!
Andrea very, VERY, VERY kindly has said she will ask her own CRS about my situation at her appointment today, which I think is a lovely, wonderful thing to do, so a VERY BIG THANK YOU ANDREA! xx

Val - I'm so very, very sorry that you are going through this! I'm really upset and frustrated for you! I'm so glad that Andrea and Dawn are going to ask folks who would know. I'm not seeing my surgeon again until Dec. I have been searching the internet for any information that comes close to addressing your situation and haven't come across anything yet - but I'll keep looking. I do think you might want to consider getting a second opinion. Your CRS might be the top dude, but lesser docs can sometimes do a better job figuring out what's going on. Don't give up, Val! You'll figure out what's going on and we are here to help you get some answers - at the very least, we are here to give you lots of moral support!

Aw Val. I'm sorry to hear you are having problems with the doc. After reading what has happened, I have absolutely no idea as to the answer of any of your problems. I am sorry! I am however thinking of you and hope you get this sorted out. As Hope has said, could you get another opinion? The consultants missed my fissure and its the registrar who has identified my fissure and helping me to follow through with treatment. Maybe another opinion would be good :)

Hi Val,
I talked to my daughter who is much smarter than I! I'm going to try and make this as understandable as I can for as much as I understand myself.
First she said that a radiologist would know the difference between scar tissue and an object. They have a trained eye. She said that she is learning about CT's right now and she isn't sure about the MRI but with the CT there's an instrument that is used and numbers will come across which will identify bone, blood, tissue, etc...
She said here in the US that the radiologist and the Dr have to come to have an agreement on the results, and if they don't then someone else will have to be called in.

psss..Val Lymph activity on the MRI report sounds like infection to me. I agree, another opinion may be a good idea if possible.

That's great, Dawn! You're awfully smart, so I guess our daughter is quite brilliant! It's great that she looked into this. I thought that a doc and technician would be able to distinguish scar tissue and a medical device. And I think you're right that lymph activity indicates an infection. At least, that's what I've read. Yep - I'm definitely thinking another opinion is in order here. I really hope you can do that, Val.

Andrea, how did your appointment go today? Hope it went well! :)