by jr2 » 23 May 2012, 09:28
Marinboy,
So happy to hear you are still seeing improvement! Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it continues and you are restored to full health in the coming days and weeks!
Sailorgal,
I can't comment about what your CRS said about Dr. Sohn's personality or motivations, and it is really interesting to hear his perspective. But I can say that I've read Dr. Sohn's studies and his methods for developing the standardized dilation procedure. Before Dr. Sohn retired I believe he had performed close to 3000 SAD procedures and had a very high success rate with a miniscule complication rate using this procedure. Further, he was an active participant over on the Yahoo Anal Fissure Support Group for awhile, answering questions for fissure sufferers and being very supportive and informative and acknowledged the controversy in his specialty over his introduction of SAD. In my experience it isn't very common for a busy physician to be so available to an online support group. Yes, there was a lot of controversy back when he decided to start offering this new option to patients, but I don't imagine it's that much different from anyone who tries to sing a different tune in the chorus. SAD is a commonly accepted and practiced procedure in other countries, and more research studies keep coming out about its safety and efficacy, and it seems that though it is slow to happen we are hearing of at least some physicians in the US who are offering it with successful outcomes.
As far as the difference between women and men, Dr. Sohn would often dilate to a smaller diameter in women to compensate both for smaller anatomy and the possibility of an obstetrical history. If the first dilation was unsuccessful it could always be repeated again for a longer period of time or using a larger dilator.
If I lived just a short drive to Long Island, I would have been out to WECC's and Marinboy's doctor a long time ago. Just my two cents for what they're worth.