Hi there - well I saw the CRS yesterday and we had a chat - he examined me with his finger, and two telescopes - the breathing I learnt for child birth came in handy as it was uncomfortable. He seemed very nice and said I had three things going on- lucky me!
Firstly :) , a Rectosele -which is a tear in the tissue( probably due to child birth- thanks kids!) that divides the vagina and the rectum - this is the route of my problem - it makes a kind of pocket in my rectum which poo stays in after my bowel movement - then the poo goes all hard and sharp and then I feel like I have to strain to evacuate it. There : a cause for my AF problems!
Secondly :roll: I also have a chronically inflamed anus - abnormal skin growing which is a reaction to the inflammation.
Thirdly I have my AF ! Lucky me! He is giving me a cream to sort out the inflamation which I use twice a day for 6 weeks, then I have to use it 2 times a week for another 6 weeks, but after the first 6 weeks he wants to perform a Fissurectomy with two injections of botox to relax the area, he said this was a more conservative approach than an LIS - my continence he said was a gift from God and his main concern was to do me no harm in this area.

After that the CRS said that there were three options to deal with the Rectosele - stapling, appying gauze laparoscopically -which was very specialised and not many surgeons can do this in the UK or the final option of getting a Gynecologist to shore up the membrane from the other side ( the vagina) which he seemed to prefer because it would be best for my continence.
He said I could carry on using nitro if i wanted to but shrugged off any interest in it working. Is this because he is a surgeon and likes to cut? What does everybody think? any experience of Fissurectomies out there? Have other people had similiar problems? or solutions suggested by their CRS? Any ideas?
Can I just say at this point that having surgery terrifies me?

In my opinion, go for the surgery ASAP. To be honest, for me, the surgery was a breeze. If I had it to do all over again, I would have skipped all the creams, ointments, fiber, Miralax, stool softeners, hot baths, strict diet, false hope, etc. and had the surgery right away. I think most people who have had LIS would tell you their that biggest regret was that they waiting too long to have LIS. Of course, only YOU and your CRS can make that determination.
Good luck!

thisfissurecankissmybutt wrote:In my opinion, go for the surgery ASAP. To be honest, for me, the surgery was a breeze. If I had it to do all over again, I would have skipped all the creams, ointments, fiber, Miralax, stool softeners, hot baths, strict diet, false hope, etc. and had the surgery right away. I think most people who have had LIS would tell you their that biggest regret was that they waiting too long to have LIS. Of course, only YOU and your CRS can make that determination.
Good luck!

I have to agree with thisfissurecankissmybutt.
I had the fissurectomy and botox done 8 weeks ago, and last week I started to fell like before the op 8 week ago.
In the morning I will go to a pre LIS meeting, and make a schedule to have the LIS op done as quick as possible.
Good luck in what ever you decide, and with your healing progress.
Kind regards

Hi there fitchatak, and glad that you had your CRS appointment.
Don't have much information about Fissurectomy, though there are a few members who have had this instead of LIS. Healing, I believe, is  approximately 87% for Fissurectomy and 96% for LIS. If you read some of the reports on here of those who have had LIS, there are very few reports of incontinence. 
Great that you have a surgeon that you feel confident about.
 

Thank you for your comments - it's so great that you are here to talk to! What about Fissurectomies? A waste of time? He said that he could remove all the scar tissue around the fissure and that it would never get better on it's own without that scar tissue being removed. FYI although the fissure is 'as old as dem hills' I don't think it is very big - 4mm. I suppose at the end of the day I have to have faith in my CRS - he is very experienced - in fact I think he came out of retirement he loved dealing with butts so much. Anyone had success with a fissurectomy?

Sorry Danish AF - you have answered my question and I am really sorry I didn't acknowledge you. What did your CRS say about it not working? Did you tear again?

fitchatak wrote:Sorry Danish AF - you have answered my question and I am really sorry I didn't acknowledge you. What did your CRS say about it not working? Did you tear again?

Hi there, and np
I will talk with him first time tomorrow, after the tear this weekend.
I had my 3 weeks check, and back then everything was good, and i then was told to come back in 3 months. But when things started to go wrong last week, and the AF went open again in the weekend, I called them yesterday, and got an appointment tomorrow, and told them, that I was more than ready for the LIS op.
I think that my problems will go away with the LIS op, but im not sure how great it would work, if I had not had a fissurectomy 8 weeks ago. I had a lot scar tissue from all the times the b...... would tear. After the fissurectomy is the one time that I have been the most close to be back to normal, and I think that if I had the LIS, and not the botox with the fissurectomy, my problems would be gone now.
Hope you choose the right solution for you, and everything will be good again in no time im sure
Kind regards

Hey Fitch,
You've a got a lot going on there! but glad you now have an update and a sense of direction. My daughter has a lot to answer for too! Bless her. It sounds like you have a very positive attitude about it all despite your surgery fears, which will be absolutely fine I'm sure!....
Most of the posts I've read seem to find relief in just having the surgery, getting through the recovery and are happy to have it done! Honestly, just get your life back to normal. If your surgeon is well experienced and reputable in his field, I'm sure he will be advising you the way he feels best and for your fissure. I don't think they would "cut" just for the sake of it as many tend to be the opposite and first try you out with every other non-surgical alternative (and then those who aren't helped by these methods, start praying to be offered surgery!! ) Good luck in whatever you decide to do and kep us updated. :D

Hey there Ever- you always know to say the right thing! I'm thinking that at least something is being done and I kind of think it's like when you are in hospital having a baby - you know a bit of this and a bit of that, but at the end of the day you have to trust the person looking after you. This guy has a really good reputation in our town and he really took the time to explain things to me, so what am I gonna do?
Having said that I feel so much better being able to run what he has said by you guys. :) Believe me, I feel so much more positive now I'm connected to the AF forum. I'm beginning to think we should develop our own secret handshake, there's so many of us out there! Thanks Ever - keep in touch ...