I thought maybe it was supposed to be Michael Jackson!! I'm OK and busy helping my mum as she recovers from her surgery!

I had surgery on a fistula yesterday. Details here.

well its been 5 months since my fistula was laid open.i wast told everything would heal with 4-6 weeks. tbh overall i think it was about 10weeks.
i think it varies quite a lot depending on how big/deep the wound is and probably how strong your immune system is.
The nurses looking after me told me they have a patient, a young guy, who had his op at the beginning of the summer and he is only just starting to heal now - he would bleed a lot at every dressing change. apparently he has blood clotting issues.
what started my fistula was an perianal abcess, the site of the abcess wound still splits a little every now and then, thats 8 months post op and my wound,It has healed very slowly but consistantly so far, with no setbacks. apart from spliting, and getting tender and swollen if i sit, walk, bend, and even having a BM can causes all the above
These are the things which I felt helped, or not, as the case may be:
I take zinc and vit C supplements daily.
I am eating lots of protein, fresh fruit and veg. No/little processed food or fried food.
Physical activity, such as walking, to keep up blood-flow, therefore supplying oxygen to wound area.but to much can cause spliting to,so don't overdo things and try to get plenty of rest.
try an avoid pressure or friction to wound: avoid sitting down as much as you can. Keep driving to a minimum if at all possible: I have found that if I have spent too much time in the car or in front of the computer, the wound bleeds slightly.
Finally, I really do believe that a positive attitude helps enormously. Everyone is different, but this is how I personally have tried remained positive:(so hard at times really hard)
- I have not looked at my wound, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME. I would rather not see it, and prefer to just have a mental image of healed skin back there.
- My surgeon said at the beginning it could take 3 months to heal, but after reading info on other sites i feel now its all guess work by them. everyone is diferent and heal quicker than others.
the area of any perianal abcess is always going to take a very long time until it stops being tender, etc, i can have days of greatness in the area, the powwww, its swollen tender(not painful)....scaring in the anal area from any surgery takes time, remains tight,(thats why the wound splits at times, scar tissue does not strech, and being in the anal, buttocs area well is not the best place to have scar tisue, sitting on the loo can cuz a split,
just clean yourself good if and when it does with a shower head , no soaps nothing, just good old warm, water, and gently dab te area with a nice soft sponge, and even after a BM get that sponge dabing, instead of tissue.. i used to use baby wipes but found they iratated things, so i stick to plain old warm shower water,
so if you find spiting of any wound in the anal buttocks area dont worry, even after 8 months, just keep it clean
so thats a rough update,

Wow, Darren! I am SO happy you are finally digging out of that deep hole you were in. And MAN, do you know your butt advice! LOL!

How long does this surgery take? Are you able to tell me how much it is in American dollars? Also, is it worth it to have the surgery vs using homeopathic remedies that are slow to work? I've heard horror stories about people having up to 7 of these surgeries and end up with colostomy bags. I'm really scared with my luck that will happen to me.

Hi Jenbug - I'm sorry I can't tell you how much money surgery is, because I'm in Canada and we don't pay for surgery up here (we just wait forever for the free ones!). The surgery iteself takes 10 minutes to 1/2 hour, from what I've read. I had surgery for a low, superficial fistula in late June and I think it took maybe 15-20 minutes. From a surgeon's point of view, this surgery is really simple. Of course, from the patient's point of view is it scary as hell!
I have never read anything that said that people get up to 7 surgeries and end up with colostomy bags. Those horror stories are just not true - or at least they are not true of simple, superficial fistulas.
Please be careful googling - there is a lot of misinformation out there, and also often the what ends up on google are the extreme and unusual cases. The only time someone would end up with a colostomy bag would be if the fistulas were caused by an underlying condition, like ulcerative colitis or crohns, and in those cases, a good surgeon would not perform multiple surgeries, since those conditions cause very slow healing and they make people prone to multiple fistulas (instead doctors use what are called 'setons' along with meds). So whatever you've been reading sounds like bunk to me.
Please try not to worry. It is REALLY unlikely that you will end up with a colostomy bag if you don't have an underlying condition. :)

Hi All
I am a 42 year old male who had a fissure when i was 21 and was given an anal stretched under a general, unfortunately i thought it gave me piles but having just visited my GP was and referred to a consultant, he confirmed it is actually a fistula. Im going in for a proctoscope next week and he has suggested if it is a low fistula having surgery (laying it open), but i am in two minds having looked on the net of how painful it is and the long recovery as work will not allow me long periods of time off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Neil

Hi Neil,
Please don't be too influenced by some of the horror stories you can read on the net. My biggest mistake. It stressed me out so much and some of the best and more realistic information you will get from some great people on this site.....
I had surgery for a low superficial fistula 3 weeks ago and I'm still a bit sore but have no regrets about getting the procedure done so I could just get back on with my life again!....I was stuck in that cycle of inflamed fistula, drainage and then calm and then the return of the pain build-up, more pus and so it went on for a few weeks.....I just wanted my procedure done and over with and felt so relieved once it had been done....
I had a very small superficial fistula, which fortunately was skin surface level and did not interfere with the sphincter muscle. Surgery took 20 minutes, woke an hour later and went home 2 hours after that. The first two days were great. I felt great and that was largely due to the GA....I had some pain then for 3/4 days after, which has now subsided to a bit of soreness and some discomfort, but nothing unbearable. I've rarely had to take pain killers and just get on with things now...
GP is very happy with my healing, so I'm happy to contend with a bit of soreness knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
My CRS advised me I could be back at work the following week ( I had the op on a Wednesday) although I made the decision not to and went back on the following week....just because you do need some healing time and more than anything, it was nice to be in the comfort of my own home to deal with the post BM cleaning etc... With painkillers, I probably could have gone back sooner but decided I just needed that time off.
So, be assured if you have a fistula like mine, it's truly NOT that bad! There are lots of stories from fellow fistula sufferers. Take a look at my thread too (3rd day post fistulomy) where I go into a bit more detail on it all.
It's NO more painful post surgery than before and I was back at work just over a week.
Good luck Neil. Wishing you all the best in your decision. :)

I had surgery in December 2011. Felt great after and after fearing to poo I found that it was less pain the pre-surgery. I didn't have deep packing as stated above and very little drainage, etc. Went back to work after 4 weeks.

I had surgery a long time ago on both a fistula and hemorroids. It was shortly thereafter that I developed the fissure. I have concern that the surgery may have been the cause of the fissure. Any one else have this happen to them?