by jr2 » 19 Feb 2013, 22:28
coconut is right on.
By the way, a colonoscopy is not needed to see a fissure. A colonoscopy can be performed if the doctor suspects something like Crohn's disease is causing the fissure, or if a screening colonoscopy has never been done and a physician feels a colorectal screening for colon cancer would be a good idea. Fissures can be visualized either by simple inspection (if close enough to the opening of the anus) or by inspection using an anoscope (with or without sedation) that will allow a physician to visualize a fissure further up inside the anus.