Don't worry too much about the ride home! You are going to be so drugged up you won't remember it! At least I don't the last 2 surgeries! Again, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Hope all went well with your surgery and you are feeling okay

Yes..... How did it all go???

Good day everyone ... Im new to the site and so thankful that sites like this exist. Problems like fistula's and fissures are not ones you can really find info on. Here is my story and where i am at today.

Back in May i had a perianal abscess that was drained in the ER which was healing nicely or so i thought as the draining never really stopped. Seen the specialist in July who confirmed it was now a fistula and that i would need a seton but he was too busy and i would probably wait a year or more to get in with him so he reffered me to another doc in hopes to get in quicker. In the end i was able to see another doc this past Sept and he has said that he will not know until he gets in as to whether it will be a seton put in or a fistulotmy done. Depending on how much of the spcinter muscle is involved. He said the only thing that worries him about my fistula is that it is a long track. when they drained my abscess they went in at the site of the abscess and not close to the rectum. Looks like my track is the length of my middle finger. I dont have crohns or UC but have had IBS over the years which i have come to manage better since all this. My life has changed cuz of all this and i know its silly and it was only an abscess but i literally went off the deep end with all this .. i have never had anything wrong with me before like this and maybe that why i went a lil coo coo .. lol I have my surgery date for Dec 10 and i seem to be getting a lil more comforatble with all this as i dont get a slight panic attack when i talk about it... I have a few questions for you pros out there and any insight or advice would be greatly appericated.

-Is there a way that i can kinda tell if its a deep in the muscle track? i have noticed that if i apply pressure on the cheek or clinch my rectum it makes more puss/blood come out.

-has anyone not taken the hard pain meds and just tried to use like tylenol or ibprofen? Im scared of getting plugged up with the pain meds.

- doc is saying that recovery time can be 6 wks with most of the time being on my belly... laying on my side would be ok too right?

-i asked the doc about packing the wound and he said no not nessasary, i will leave with it dressed like covered and can do that at home but no packing the wound. I currently do sitz baths like 3-4times a day and he said i will keep up with that.

I am sorry this is so long just terrified of all this and trying to get the most info i can and the more peoples stories about all this. the only thing that i am certain on is that i do not want both a seton and fistulotmy done .. one or the other i dont think i can mentally handle both. Has anyone else kinda developed anitxey with this.

Thank you to all of you for sharing your stories and giving the new comers to all this hope that life will be better at the end of all this. :)

I am having a fistulotomy done on Dec 5th. I have not heard of being on your belly for 6 weeks to heal. My doctor says everyone is different when it comes to healing. I know a couple people who have had it done and told me to plan on being out of work a week maybe two even my doctor told me some people go back within that week so I don't think you will be in bed for 6 weeks that along time.

So far I have had a fistulotomy and a seton/fistulotomy, the first surgery failed. On both surgeries I was out a week on each. I did try using ibuprofen but noticed I bleed a hell of a lot more. I laid on my side so much my leg would fall asleep and I would just turn over. I didn't want to lay on my belly cause I felt it was to much pressure on my lower abdomen and was just uncomfortable. Everyone is different. Check out everyone's story. It helps. Place your own post next time, I was thinking this was a updated thread. Lol

Thanks for your posts ... I am not sure how to post my own post i thought i had to comment on an already existing one. Sorry still finding my way around on the site, first time ihave ever been on a site like this. :)

Hi Dewlily,
Thanks for posting and welcome here.
Sorry to read of your fistula issue and your stress in dealing with it, but once they've started the surgery route for you, you'll be on your healing path sooner than you think!
I'm a little confused by your surgeon's assessment that the fistula tract is so long - I thought an abscess would be normally drained directly from the site anyway? Do you have a secondary external opening close to the rectum now?
I think the only way a surgeon can really know for sure is when they perform the examination under anaesthetic and can confirm the exact location & size of the tract - that's when they'll decide the best course of action - either a Fistulomy for a more superficial fistula or a seton insertion for one that interacts with the sphincter muscle.
Your CRS should be able to give you all the fine details once you've come round from the anaesthesia!
If I inserted more pressure on my fistula at that time, I too, would make it ooze more!....which I hoped always would get rid of it all quicker, only it never did until I had surgery to get rid of it once and for all!
I'm not convinced that you will be lying on your stomach healing for 6 weeks! Either procedure above will leave you in a few days of discomfort but nothing too major. I think most of us fistula patients spent a couple of days with more bed & sofa rest but were up and moving around quite normally very soon after. The average time to go back to work ranged from a week to about four, so hopefully, it will be like this for you too...
I didn't actually take painkillers whilst I had my fistula - for me it was just an annoying experience with more pain when the fistula became inflamed again and then that horrid pus/ itchiness. I took some Ibruprofen once or twice after the surgery but I wouldn't say anything was painful enough to warrant really strong painkillers. Hopefully, Ibruprofen will see you through...
As long as you just continue to eat properly with enough fibre & lots of fresh fruit, salad & veggies and lots of fluids - you should be fine. Stewed apples/ soft fruits (tinned prunes etc.) gave me really soft stools as do beans! You could always take a stool softener if you feel you need to??......
No, your CRS is right - Your wound may not need packing and it's probably a bit easier when you don't have to worry about doing that daily. They will possibly place a tiny little gauze in there after they operate, which may well fall out later in the day...but after that, just leave it open to heal. You can always place a little pad in your underwear for a day or two straight after your surgery because the wound might bleed a little initially, but that will stop. You may need to get your wound checked during the healing process just to ensure it is healing properly but recovery is not so bad.
Try not to be terrified about all this because fistulas are treatable and the majority, extremely successfully. I had mine over 2 years ago and now, barely remember it (although it was horrid at the time) and no sign of recurrence since.
Surgery is the only way to get rid of them, no matter how much you might not want it and I tried so many things to heal myself! - Just read some of the success stories in Fistula surgery here and hopefully, you'll feel a lot more encouraged & relaxed about it all. The surgery is OK, very straight-forward and very, very quick! It passes in a flash.....Honestly, deep breaths and you will be fine

Thanks for your reply Ever the Optimist ... I currently have a pin hole about 3-4 inches away from my rectum that leaks puss/blood ... its the same place they drained the abscess not really close to my rectum i think that is what he means by a long track ... also sometimes when i am blocked up and in mega pain when i apply pressure to the area the puss will spill out my rectum instead of the opening .. sorry if thats a TMI (too much info) moment...

so with a seton that is a temporary line so it can drain without blocking up and then you get a fistulotmy?? and there is no real time frame on how long it stays in right? i guess im confused with the seton and how it works in the end.

Can i ask which procedure you had done? and do you know if incontinence could happen in either procedure... sorry for all the questions just so curious with all this ... and do you have crohns or UC? i dont think i do but they are gonna have a look around while im under to be sure.... again thanks for all the info and help. :)

I am getting a fistulotomy on Dec 5 and i had a abcess drained back in August that never healed and it drains everyday, I thought he would put Seton in me, but he is doing fistulotomy he says because the track I have has been inflammed the whole time