Hi everyone again,
Well, I think I will be seeing a new CRS today. I am just not sure about what type of surgery is the best for a fistula. I have read way too much on the internet! Some say a simple fistulotomy has the most success for cure, and then I read how so many people have had to have numerous surgeries all which have failed. A true success story would be encouraging at this point! In the meantime, I am wondering if it is still okay to wait on doing anything until after the holidays...I would hate to be in post op pain at this time of the year. I also heard of people living with a fistula for years...ouch! Anyone out there who has had the surgery...I would really like to know about the recovery and if it was successful.
Thanks!

The best source of information is going to come from a CRS. make sure he/she is a very experienced one. am very lucky to have such a skilled crs in the area of scotland i come from.
From my experience to answer if its a fistula or not, Do you find that after you have a BM there wood be blood at the opening of the abcess, this may indicate a tract coming from your passage to the abcess.
Alot of long time fistula suffers have a burst abcess for a long time, and go through life with it leaking a bit each day,keep area clean, shower, and use the pads to soak it up.....
I had a lower endoscopic & mri to help determine my problems. Also, my CRS used probes to determine it was a fistula.
but yeah there are success stories of surgerys/non surgerys, but everyone is different,
the real proper answers you will get is by only going to see a CRS

Thanks for the reply! I am going tomorrow afternoon to the new CRS. My main concern right now is that the area where the tiny bump is is extremely tender almost all of the time now. In the past month ir would be tender, drain, and then I would be fine until it drained again, now it is tender all of the time although nor red or swollen any more than usual, if anything it appears smaller...even a little smaller than a pea, but boy is it sore.

by what your are saying it does sound like a anal abcess/perianal abcess(but am no doctor) am just going by my own experince.
it might turn out to be an a boil. different to an abcess so i wass told.
but if it is an abcess the longer you leave it the more chance of a fistula, and the longer it is left the further the fistula track will travel.
there are two types of fistula tracks high and low,
low then your crs could perform a laid open fistula surgery
if it goes higher into the spincher(spelling )then more complex,it becomes.
if a high one a cutting setton would be used first , this cuts through the anal spincher bit by bit, without damaging it, damage would cause incontenice
once the senton had cut low enough down, the laid open proceedure would then happen. there are other proceedures but laid open is the best,
without cause incontenice
sorry for the spelling at times here,
i had a work accident which made me ending up havig some learning difficults, spelling one of them

Well, looks like it is a fistula...bummer, now I'm really scared. The Dr. said the surgery really isn't bad, but it will take about a month to heal. He said for the pain they give Toradol and Percocet but most people don't even need the Percocet. Has anyone taken Toradol?? I would like to get some info on it...I am terrible with meds!! He also said no general anesthesia....just some Propafol (I think that's how you spell it) the drug that Michael Jackson took...YIKES!!!! Anyone had that one? I know some Drs give it for colonoscopies. Anyway, I am waiting until after the holidays to have the fistulotomy...hoping all stays calm and no more abcesses arise. Keeping my fingers crossed!!