Ok, so I'm pretty sure I'm just being paranoid here, but has anyone who has had LIS ever had a problem with anal stenosis? I understand that this is a rare but occasional complication with various different kinds of anorectal surgery. However I'm having trouble finding exact incidence rates. Just wanted to see if anyone here has had any issues with it at all.
It's weird because the literature on LIS talks so much about side effects like incontinence and stenosis that you wind up thinking it's very common. However, looking through anecdotal evidence (basically posts on message boards), it seems to me that the chief complaint from patients who have had LIS and weren't happy with the results is that surgery didn't cure the fissure. The discrepancy between the so-called medical studies and anecdotal evidence really does seem strange...

NP - LOL - I just have to giggle - sorry buddy - but "stenosis" of alllll possible things that can happen
OK - let me put my "serious hat" on .... ehemmm...
No - nobody here in the past 2 years that I was actively a member (actually 3) , ever had stenosis as a result of a LIS.
In general - whatever is written in the literature does not have much importance for you personally. What counts for YOU is what is YOUR surgeon's record and experience since the results will depend mostly of your surgeon's experience
and expertise.
If your particular CRS never had a case of incontinence or stenosis and he/she performed at least 500 LIS surgeries - than it is great chance that you will NOT have any serious side effects.
And stenosis ... really .... almost unheard of ; ) !!!!!
There is a bigger chance that somebody who is on laxatives for years to get it , than for a person after the simple LIS surgery !
The only real thing you should "worry" is that CRS does not cut enough and also to keep it clean and nice and avoid infection !
Everything else would be a "freak accident" and they happen in everyday life all the time- I do not think that LIS will cause any more or less probability for that .
Yes - some things can go wrong *sigh... you now - person goes to extract a tooth and loose hearing or site on that side of the face ! But what is the chance ??? ; )
We take chances every day doing so many things - driving, crossing the street, eating LMAO (we can choke !!!!). So - it would be immature and silly to say - oh nothing can ever happen having a LIS - yes , MANY things can happen !!!!!
But again - if we would have that thought process all the time - we would be sitting all in a glass bubble and do nothing ; )
I think that you really should stop reading about all things that can go wrong since it is not helping you NP : ((, it just makes you more and more psyched up : (((. If you decided to go with a LIS - now is time to get ready with the healing plan : ))) !!!!
If you are still undecided and really think it is a bad idea , after all, than it is OK too !!!!! You are not in mayor pain NP - you can take your time - the sphincter and the scalpel are "not going anywhere" LOL - you can reschedule and try Botox again !!!! Why not, after all ???

Hey Fiss, I think you're right about the not reading about possible side effects part :) Logically I know the possibility of something going seriously wrong is very small, and I take much bigger risks in other aspects of life (snowboarding, speeding, riding motorcycles, etc.), but somehow the mind just tends to wander when it comes to surgery... Completely irrational, I know, but I just can't help it.
I asked my CRS what complications she's had with LIS patients. I asked her the same question once back in September 2009 and again in April 2010, and she gave me the same answer both times, so I trust that it's the truth. She says she had one patient that didn't get better after LIS, and two that got infections (but both were heavier people who supposedly are more prone to infections due to the many folds of skin in the anus). So no real red flags there, I trust her history.
But yeah I've definitely been having a hard time mentally following through with it all. I've actually spent this entire week hoping I would get bad pain while pooping so that it's easier to follow through mentally. I even ate fried fish and fried rice a few days ago to see if it would cause problems. But so far, only an aching discomfort and some annoying itching -- something is still wrong down there, but it's not totally killing me or stopping me from going about my daily business. Still, I would really love to get rid of it forever, which is why LIS is still appealing. Another thing I keep thinking about is what is my sphincter doesn't actually a spasm, and I get LIS and end up with lower than normal sphincter tone. My mind is quite overactive.
The funny thing is that I've actually started jogging this week for the first time in years just to see if it causes any major pain. But alas, that doesn't cause any terrible pain, either, again just some discomfort and mild pain. My wife laughs at me for running laps around our living room.
I just know that as soon as I cancel my appointment, the fissure is going to come right back though. And since it's just two business days away, I don't know if I can even still cancel or reschedule. I'm not sure what I would even tell the doctor's office besides maybe "hey sorry guys I'm totally chickening out" :oops:
Sigh, yes, I know I'm impossible, but there you have it, a glimpse into the mind of a very neurotic and sad person :) I already bought all the veggies I'll be eating post-surgery, the cotton pads, Fleet enemas, etc., so I'm still planning on going through with everything, but I will just be very mentally unsettled these last few days I think. At least I can feel comforted that stenosis is an unlikely complication though :)
Well, thank you for entertaining my follies! I hope maybe it's just late and my mind is losing it, maybe I'll read this tomorrow morning and laugh at what I posted.

Maybe try Botox again first, NG????

Hi NG,
Best of luck on your LIS. I am sure Dr. Hobson will do a great job and the fissure will heal 100% :). Please do keep us posted!

Hey, thanks! It's the 11th hour and I'm still kind of on the fence about it. Just found out today that my kid is probably going back in the hospital soon too which doesn't help things. "Aaarrrggghhh!!!" kind of sums it up.

Hope you are feeling somewhat more relaxed today ???
And, by the way - you can ALWAYS cancel , even the morning you come to the hospital !!!!! It is your body and your decision - who cares what anybody thinks and for outpatient and non-essential surgery explanation as :" I do not feel ready" is absolutely acceptable !!!! ; ) I am sure that you will not be the first or the last person to do it , so do not put extra pressure on yourself in that regard either !!!
If you really want to go through LIS, do not "fight" your feelings of apprehension or fear and worry - they are normal ! Just do not read any more scary stuff since it is first - not helpful in any way, second is obviously not likely to happen ! KTW
When you feel "worked up" just take deep breaths, (4 counts in, one hold, 8 count out) for a minute or two and replace bad thoughts with a nice ones !When you hear yourself saying "OMG, I might end up incontinent" - recognize the thought , acknowledge it, and than repeat :" It is highly unlikely - nobody I know of had it . I will do just fine !!!!" Imagine nice gold energy enveloping you and keeping you safe - you have to call "good vibrations" ; ))) !!!!
Yes - it is good that you have some things ready for post-op : )) ! Those "cotton things" you probably will not need for more than a day and it is better to keep your butt "free and aerated" so just "sacrifice" couple of white cotton briefs that you can wash and bleach daily. There will not be so much blood or excrete that you will need much of anything and that gauze is not soft, you know ; ) ! If you find having anything in your panties - than put 2 pairs on OR you might borrow your wife's liners ; ) - who will know LOL ; )) !!!! I know that I could not stand anything touching my anus post-op - so no gaze was on my butt beside first day immediately after surgery.
Buy Balneol cream - START FINDING IT NOW !!! It is not easy to find it LOL. When you go to CVS ASK for it , since it is tiny bottle LOL, if you do not know where to look - you will spend 30 min searching with no result LOL You will need it for cleansing the anus after BMs. It is very important , so just buy it LOL. I will explain the "methodology" in detail if you really go through surgery ; ) !
Hope you have some Vaseline (non scented one) and A+D cream and q-tips and small "butt mirror" (one that you will use for "butt inspections").
Enema you will need only before the surgery !!!
Stay cool dude - all will be just fine, just chill and imagine happy days

Good advice, Fiss!

Ok Fiss, I just went out and picked up some Balneol. There was actually a sale on it at Walgreens and I got the last bottle :) Pretty expensive stuff for such a small bottle, but if it helps, I don't care :)
I don't know if I have Vaseline at home (probably my wife does), but I have Q-tips for sure and believe I have some old A+D ointment sitting around. I used to get tattoos all the time and always put A+D on new tattoos for a week or so to prevent infection. Hopefully the old stuff still works. If not then I'm pretty sure I have some Bacitracin ointment sitting around that I also used for tattoos before, maybe the same stuff will be okay for my butt.
I also grabbed a 50 dose bottle of the Miralax generic at Walgreens for just $20, which is a good price. They were having a big sale -- it must be a sign!
Anyway I think I'm 99% going to go through with LIS now, even though the discomfort is only minor right now, I want to be 100%. By this winter I want to be able to drink beer, snowboard, and ride motorcycles again (not necessarily in that order of course) without worrying about ripping my ass open.

And since I'm getting LIS in a few days anyway and will have to be ultra diligent about my diet afterward, I'm having myself a bunch of Taco Bell tacos for lunch right now So far this week I've had fried fish and tempura, tacos, and tomorrow I think I'm gonna crack a beer and have a McDonald's value meal. Take that damn fissure! Then after LIS I will return to veggie soup land...