so this question's for anyone who's had fissurectomy, fistulotomy mainly.... i don't remember imy butt looking so disgusting after LIS, but definitely after the skin tag removal last year...
so how do i keep it clean??? i bathe in warm water 4 times a day, and after BM i rub a little soap on it with my finger then rinse it off well in the bath. my dr prescribed Mupirocin, which is some kind of anti-bacteria ointment. i put that on the wound, along with lidocaine, 3 times a day. i'm also taking Levaquin, some kind of anti-bacteria antibiotic, once a day for 5 days. otherwise, how do i make sure no fecal matter gets trapped in there. my butt is such a disgusting mess right now i can't tell what's fecal matter, what's blood, and what's just plain skin..... any ideas on optimal cleanliness?? infection is definitely my worst fear..... in advance!

juney,
i would recommend not using any kind of soap.
i think you will do well with using warm water on its own to rinse out any residue. the ph of the mucous membranes there will do the rest of the work with anything left over.
also using the mupirocin - i used that to heal the horrible damage the mycobacterium marinae did to my finger - combined with the levaquin will help maintain a level of protection down there and should help with preventing infection - after all they are anti-biotics.
soap is definitely a no-no.
just do a nice rinse and clean with warm water.
**
after bm, try to take a shower and do a nice rinse with warm water. it will be better than rubbing toilet paper to get stuff off.
maybe every 8 hours (this will break it down to 3 times a day), do a little wipe with a baby toilette and then blow dry so that it is completely dry down there - use the cool setting. and then re-apply your dab of mupirocin and levaquin and lidocaine.
good luck.......soap is just bad for the ph of the anus.

I dont think soap is a good idea, it changes the PH of your skin! Just hop in the shower and use the shower head to rinse the area, and then have a long soak in the bath.
After my fistulotomy, all was well until i used my Lush soaps, and bubble baths again.

I use savlon liquid , its an antiseptic, brilliant stuff - i dont think its available in US - i could send you some if you want to try it. But salt, just ordinary kitchen salt is very good too.

While you're on an antibiotic i dont think its likely you would get another infection.

How are you feeling? I hope the pain is settling down a bit?

As long you are on antibiotics you should be on safe site.

Juney -

My CRS does not recomend soap even wih a healed "normal" butt. I don't know why - he is always warning me against it.

thank you guys for your advice! val - the pain seems like it's getting better slowly, but i'm taking a lot of meds plus valium so i'm not sure....the pain during BM is excruciating, but i know that's normal so soon after surgery.
anyway, i called the dr and he said do a partial enema w/ warm water to clean out the area after BM, use a little soap in the shower, and then just take 4 warm water baths everyday. ughhh i'm so sick of enemas!! but i guess i'll do whatever he recommends to keep the area clean. the mupirocin and lidocaine are topical ointments, and the levaquin is in pill form. my last day of that will be tomorrow. my follow-up's on tuesday

Juney-is the pain still so bad?is it worse than pre LIS?its best not to use soap at all.good luck with the appointment and let us know how u r

pinky, i actually didn't have LIS this time around. I had my first LIS in May 07, and my second in SEpt 07. Neither did anything for me, and my fissure never healed. the fissure develped into a deep ulcerated wound as well as a small fistula-like tunnel. This most recent surgery was a fisturectomy and cleaning out of the fistula tunnel.
The pain is more horrible this time than i ever imagined possible. After LIS i didn't have nearly this much pain. My situation is very different than a lot of people on the board. Many have LIS and recover just fine. For me, it didn't help a bit either the first or the second time. It took me a year after the 2nd surgery to see another dr for a 2nd opinion. I'm glad i did b/c he said my wound would never have healed w/o surgery. i'm hoping it heals this time, but it's hard to be super positive with so many negative experiences in the past.

Happygas -- how is the marathon training coming along???

Juney, at the risk of sticking my nose in where its not wanted, but I shall say it anyway in case you hurt yourself - everyone on here is saying that they were told not to use soap. I had an adverse reaction myself after using it once the area was near enough healed. Yet your doctor is telling you to use it. He's also getting you to use an enema in an unhealed place - I have never used one but from what I hear they are not the most pleasant of things to use even if your butt is healed. Wouldnt it be better just to leave the wound alone and not disturb it with anything and just up the stool softeners a bit?
I'm sorry, I dont want to upset you and I dont mean to be rude but your doctor does sound a bit of a charlatan.

What does anyone else think?