I've suffered from an anal fissure on and off for the past two and a half years. It hits really hard, hangs around for two to three months, and then goes away for a few months, only to return in all of its terrible glory. I have used many conservative measures and lots of home remedies (diltiazem cream, wheatgrass cream, amoils fissure oil, stool softeners, etc.). The fissure is really big -- a colonoscope on Friday showed that it was over a half inch long, and penetrated to the sphincter muscle, so it's definitely chronic. The conservative measures I used gave relief to the symptoms, but since the fissure never heals, and since it is so big, the symptoms always come back with a hard stool, several bouts of diarrhea, stress, whatever.
So, the surgeon I saw, who has done this surgery over one hundred times with huge success, recommended the LIS surgery. I am ready for it -- two and a half years of this garbage is ENOUGH! I go in tomorrow, and I must say that I am very nervous, though I trust my surgeon's skills. I've prayed a lot about this, as has my family and coworkers, and it is an overall good feeling that this surgery needs to take place to relieve the pain of this fissure, and promote healing, and that this particular surgeon is a good one to use (he's listed as a general, but he belongs to a very prestigious surgical group, and has an impressive track record with LIS. Plus, we have no colorectal surgeons down here). I will let you all know how it goes, though I will say that I am really, REALLY scared of that first post-op bowel movement!
