OK here is my story I had Hemm. Surgery in 2005. Everything went fine.. I had to have it again 11 weeks ago. I have been back to my Dr. 3 times with the burning sensation. My Family Dr. Said it looked as i had a Aanal Fissure. I went back to my Surgeon and he said he saw nothing. He told me to take Citra cel and eat a High Fiber diet. Ok then he tells me that he could give me instant relief with a procedure of cutting the muscle inside my anus. I am torn because I dont want to go thru another surgery. It hurts everytime i have a bm for hours and i have to get in the bathtub for relief. At this point i am confused on what to do. I am going to use the fiber supplement. But do i have the procedure. Has anyone else had it? Was the recovery hard? I have been dealing with the pains from hemm and the surgery for over 8 months.... I can't take much more. I also start my next semester of College in August. Can someone please help me????
Thanks
Jess

I'm sorry to hear you are in so much pain, hang in there we're with you. As far as I know, the hemm surgery is different than surgery for anal fissure. If you have an anal fissure, your doctor is right they perform a LIS (Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy) in which they cut part of the sphincter muscle to help relax the area so the fissure can heal. You mentioned a family doctor, you should consult with a colorectal doctor who specializes in this area to confirm that you have an anal fissure. If you do, they can prescribe you Diltiazem, NTG, or Nifedipine ointment to help relax the area. This is first line defense against anal fissure, the surgery is reserved for last resort.

I have been using creams i have 8 different kinds. None with any success. I saw my surgeon who performed the hemm. surgery. Now i am taking Fiber and not going to the bathroom. I am afraid it is going to be hard and big. That results in pain to me. UGHhHH!! i am so irritated about this. I should not have had two surg in 5 years.
Thanks Jess

Hey Jess,
the procedure you are talking about is what most us refer to as LIS. You can see in the surgery threads that many us had the surgery and healed our fissures! :)
I had my surgery last year- 9 months ago. I'm very happy with my results! The recovery was a couple of weeks of being sore, but nothing like the fissure. I never felt fissure pain again after my surgery.
Recovery is not the same for everyone. Some take longer than others. It also can depend on the work done in that area. Some folks get other procedures done along with the LIS -such as fissurectomies, skin tag removed, etc. I had a skin tag removed and was probably sorer than someone who just had LIS alone. If you get a fissurectomy along with your LIS, then you may be looking at a little rougher, longer period for healing than just LIS.
But yes, we have heard of the surgery and it has the highest success rate for healing a fissure!

jess70301 wrote:I have been using creams i have 8 different kinds. None with any success. I saw my surgeon who performed the hemm. surgery. Now i am taking Fiber and not going to the bathroom. I am afraid it is going to be hard and big. That results in pain to me. UGHhHH!! i am so irritated about this. I should not have had two surg in 5 years.
Thanks Jess

Jess,
I have read of others developing fissures because of hem surgery
It really isn't fair. Did you have a hemroidectomy(sp?)?
Many folks have to take a stool softener along with the fiber. Have you tried miralax?

Hey Jess, I take a fiber supplement 3x a day along with 2 stool softeners before bed at night. I also have some food with fiber throughout the day and this has made me go in the morning BEFORE I leave for work and gives me time to get into the bath before I leave... so this system is working for me.