Hi all,
So I'm getting to the point where I'm strongly leaning toward having LISfor my fissure. My wife and I are having twins in mid-late September and I want to be at least somewhat okay by that time so that I am useful. It'll be our first kids (yay!) so we're going to have our hands full enough already without a big baby around the house (me) crying too :)
Here's the deal. I just called the surgery department at my hospital, and they can get me in on Thursday August 13 or Wednesday August 19. They said it's a minor outpatient surgery. I'm not sure if my relatively young age has anything to do with it being outpatient, but the person I spoke with said it's a pretty minor procedure as far as surgeries go. They also said that no prior consultation with the surgeon is required. My doctor is an internist at the same medical facility, and they already knew from looking at the referral that it would be a sphincterotomy for an anal fissure.
My question is this: does it sound right to you all that no prior consultation is required? I could probably set one up if I wanted to, but would rather not introduce any unnecessary delays unless I have to. For what it's worth, the hospital facility is a pretty well reputed one here in the San Francisco Bay Area, so there aren't any real big red flags that I can see.
Also, I looked at the doctor's profile, and he isn't specifically listed as a colorectal surgeon. I could post the link to his profile here for you guy's feedback, but I don't know if that would violate any forum rules. Would anyone be willing to have a look at it via PM? Just a simple "yay" or "nay" as to whether you'd like this guy do LIS on you based on what his profile says. I could find my own colorectal surgeon if I wanted to, but they are mostly private practices, and I trust the hospital system a little more than a private surgeon (this may be a baseless bias on my part though) due to some bad prior experiences where private surgeons wanted to operate even when it clearly wasn't necessary (for instance I had a sinus infection that one surgeon swore I'd never get over unless I got my deviated septum fixed and sinuses scraped out ... and it ended up clearing itself up in a few weeks with antibiotics).
Anyhow, any feedback would be welcome. I am desperate to get rid of this fissure but don't want to rush into something stupid. The lack of consultation and whether a general surgeon is okay are the main things I'm wondering about right now.

I am not crazy about the lack of consultation, either. The surgeon should see the patient! And he should probably see the fissure, too!
I could have had a general surgeon do my LIS, here in the small town I live in...but I wasn't comfy with that at all. Not with the risks. I got a referral to a CRS and that's who did it -- with a consultation and an exam.
I highly suggest that, so I agree with you! After all, you are going to have lots of questions only the surgeon can answer, and you will want them answered before they knock you out!
You can PM me the link if you like!

Hey NG !
Welcome to the forum :)
I hope you can kick this fissure very soon..
How exciting –TWINS ! Congratulations !
I agree with Kim, I too would be more comfortable having a consultation so to ask any questions you may have, Would it be possible to see him before surgery ?
I saw a CRS and GS :roll: I had LIS with the GS and that was the best descion for me !
Follow your gut feeling NG !

Hey Tabby,
Thank you! Yep the twins are definitely exciting, it's one boy and one girl, I may have a bloody (literally) fissure but you can't claim any lack of efficiency! The fact that the babies are just around the corner does give me a great deal more anxiety about getting the fissure resolved ASAP though.
It is possible to consult with the surgeon beforehand, but I guess the bigger concern for me is that he's a general surgeon rather than a colorectal surgeon. I think I'm going to call around a bit and explore my options first, I'm dying to get some relief from the fissure but I'm also trying to resist rushing into a poor decision.
Thanks for the welcome btw!

She had LIS through NHS by a GS and is OK, NG!
Sorry, Tabster, I couldn't resist that!

Hrm dang it, okay... I think what I will do is try talking with one or two more colorectal surgeons and see what they have to say, then make the decision. I'll admit that part of my indecision is because I saw one local CRS a while ago, and not only was his office old and shabby, but the guy seemed largely disinterested (I think he was close to retiring) and wanted to rush right to surgery, even though all I had at the time was hemorrhoids that caused some minor bleeding and itchiness, nothing really terrible at all. We don't have many colorectal surgeons nearby that are under my current insurance's network, so my range of choices is limited to about 7 of them within a 20 mile radius, and they've all been pretty booked.
In fact I may call back this afternoon and take the August 13th appointment with the general surgeon, just so it's available to me, and then sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow. I'm just so desperate, and can already picture myself being happy and painfree again, that I want to reach out and realize it so badly.
Btw Tabby, just curious, why did you decide on a GS over a CRS? Was it because you felt the GS was more skilled, or simply were more comfortable with him/her?

You know, hemmorhoid surgery can be a lot more painful, involved, and take much longer to recover from, than LIS!
Hey, I want a kangaroo, too, Chen!

I am more than Alright Kim !
NG !
It was simply a case of, the CRS I saw was just so uninterested !! Sigh !
And my GS had a great sense of humour ! Is that a good enough excuse ??
But really VIBES, NG ! :)
I think you are very wise to sought other opinions and then you will have choices ! :D
WOW ! One boy , One girl ! Fantastic !!!!

Kim wrote:You know, hemmorhoid surgery can be a lot more painful, involved, and take much longer to recover from, than LIS!
Hey, I want a kangaroo, too, Chen!

I thought a cat was far too pedastrian :) So take that big ol' kangaroo, dog lovers!

Tabby wrote:I am more than Alright Kim !
NG !
It was simply a case of, the CRS I saw was just so uninterested !! Sigh !
And my GS had a great sense of humour ! Is that a good enough excuse ??
But really VIBES, NG ! :)
I think you are very wise to sought other opinions and then you will have choices ! :D
WOW ! One boy , One girl ! Fantastic !!!!

Haha hey that excuse works for me. If I end up going the GS route, it will be because I trust the hospital he works at more, which isn't nearly as good of an excuse!