Good Day all ... i had surgery on dec 10 for my fistula which they werent sure which procedure they were going to do until they got in there to look... ends up that i had a fistulotmy and a seton put in. I have only had one episode with some pain which was right after my first bm which is to be expected i guess ... I took 1 ibprohen and that has been it so far for pain meds. I am seeng a lot of puss and smelly stuff (is that smell normal??) on my dressings when i cheange them .. is that normal? i thought my doc said i wouldnt see anymore drainage where the fistula was cut open and cleaned. The one thing i am having a hard time with is the cleaning after a bm ... i use several baby wipes and do a few sitz baths but a few hours later when i go to pee and change the dressing i see left over stool on the guaze ... yet when i first clean myslef there is none there.. is some leaking out afterward? Im scared that i am going to cause an infection where im not getting it all. With the seton he said he put a stitch in and he hopes that in 6 wks he can just remove the seton and it will be all healed .. but when i pass gas i can feel it coming out the sliced part beside my rectum ... will that stop eventually? Also when i look in the mirror at my wound i see like a black line in the far back is that the fistula track? sorry for all the questions i just dont see the doc again until jan 23 which kinda scares me cuz how will i know its healing ok One thing i must say is that overall the pain hasnt been half as bad as i thought it was going to be and neither have the bm's .. thanks in advance to all of you here .. this site has been a blessing with reading other experiences and what possibly to expect. <3 thanks

Can anyone tell me if metimusil is good for keeping stool soft.. I drink lots of water and eat activia each day plus usually have apples or tomatoes etc .. I'm not taking any pain meds but I have been taking one stool softener each nite and I am having pretty good movements but I see a lot of people here say don't strain to get bm out ...my stool seems soft but I am having to push it out with a lil strain ... Scared I'm gonna mess up things by straining .. Any advice is appreciated thanks in advance

I had the same surgery. All sounds normal to me. All I used was softeners. I have not looked at mine much but when I did I too saw a line. Just wait it out cause I'm sure you have swelling. If you are too worried, I would suggest you call your crs. I get mine cut out Thurs and I'm somewhat worried myself! Best way to clean up is to jump in the shower until you get comfortable to lay in a bath and clean up. Hope all goes well!

Found your thread :)

Smelly pus could mean an infection - keep an eye on it and make sure that the smell doesn't get worse - you will have drainage as long as there is a draining seton in there. However, it shouldn't smell funny. Then again it hasn't been that long since surgery so that may just be the infection from the abscess that's still draining. Ensure you take lots of sitz baths with sea salt or epsom salts to keep it draining and draw out all the pus.

Regarding getting "clean" after a BM - I still find that a challenge. And I almost wonder if I was ever really clean before this whole ordeal - I probably just didn't fixate as much before. Get a hand held shower if you don't already have one. It's been my saviour. After a sitz bath I was the area with the shower and it really helps ensure you've got everything.

I also used to feel "gas" coming out of the wound/incision where the seton was. After I had the LIFT surgery that stopped. In general, I am more gassy and I find it harder to control - I assume this is because of a weakened muscle.

I have never really seen any of my wounds - I did have my husband take a picture of one of the tiny ones after my first surgery when it was almost healed. It looked like a scratch at that point. I know that after my last surgery I had an awful found - about 6x3cm I think? It's now down to 1.8cmx0.2cm and is pretty much a surface wound. Interesting how the body can heal itself!

Keep drinking water, eating apples and yoghurt - I also took vitamin C for both healing and as it's a mild laxative. Are you taking any pain meds? I was on percocet and this caused me horrible constipation twice - If you are taking any strong pain meds, definitely take a laxative and stool softeners with it. I found drinking a fruit smoothie in the morning helped to get things moving as well.

No pain meds at all ... The seton I have in only sticks out of my rectum a bit from what I can see it doesn't look like it's connect anywheres else... The puss stuff is on the gauze pads they lay over the sliced butt cheek ... Looks like my wound is about 2-3 inches long maybe 4 ... That's from rectum to where the fistula was draining at... Yesterday was a bad day my stool went to complete liquid and I could not stay off the toilet probably did about 8-9 sitz baths in total and now today I have had 3 bms and 2 out of the 3 were watery .. Am I over doing it with the stool softener and the activia plus the fresh fruits and veggies ... Sorry for all the questions just when the ruff days appear they seemed worse then they are I guess .. Thanks in advance for ur help

Hang in there! I've had those days as well - you'll get through it. It sounds like you may be overdoing it? Technically you should be going for a BM 1-2 times a day and watery is definitely not good. Maybe you should lay off the fruits and veggies and try to eat some fibre - maybe wholewheat bread, or brown rice? That may help you bulk up the stool.

Does your wound have any depth? I've always had depth to my wound so I've had a nurse do daily packing changes - the packing wicks away the wound "exudate" which is the pus. Does your pus still smell? Any open would will have pus and/or blood coming off it but if it smells funny I would recommend seeing the doc in case you need antibiotics for an infection.

I am still having liquid bm's so I have stopped the stool softener and only ate half of my activia today .. I don't think there is any real depth to my wound so I don think packing was much of an option ... The smell is still there hasn't changed any kinda like a stale smell ... I called my family doc today cuz I don't go back to see the surgeon til jan 23 .. I would of thought he would want to see how things are looking but guess not he was not a rectorial specialist he is te chief of surgery so that's good right??? I almost feel like I'm too petty for him so I called my doc to see what she might think about the watery stool but then she scares me too cuz she don't know anything about fistula or fistulotmy ... Hopefully it settles down .. Thank u for talking to me diamond it really helps

I think something "smelly" is enough of a reason to go back to see the surgeon - or can you possibly see his nurse? I always had packing done so a nurse was keeping an eye out.. and these days if I can't see my surgeon I usually touch base with her nurse as they can usually spot an infection as well. Given that you have a seton, the smelly stuff is probably just the infection still draining out but you can never be too sure.

Do you still have watery stool - or did it settle down? It could just be your body dealing with the after effects of surgery. Make sure you stay hydrated either way.

Did the surgeon tell you whether the fistula tract is going through muscle? I assume so given that you had a seton placed.

Hang in there - We all know how rough it is to deal with these issues here...

Sorry for the delayed post with the holidays and all .. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.. The bms are back to normal and I haven't taken anymore stool softener just doing my usual routine. Things look ok from what I can see. It's been 2 weeks since the surgery and I can see a difference in the depth of the wound but I'm still getting yellowish puss on the gauze. I know people say that's normal with the seton but I'm confused the puss runs along the slice where the fistula was cut open not where the seton is which is sticking out my rectum. Is that normal the puss? Also now I'm terrified of the tissue becoming granulation tissue.. Maybe I just worry a lot and reading the internet is not always good well for head that is lol... Does anyone know how to tell if it is granulation tissue? I'm still not sitting yet when will that happen again or is that just kinda depending on me? Thanks in advance to anyone who answers and again hope everyone had a joyous holiday

I believe granulation tissue is "beefy red" - I've actually never seen any of my own wounds, so I'm just going on what my nurses have told me. I was never sure where the pus was coming from - but I do think any open wound will have wound exudate. Do you have a follow up with your doc? Don't freak out too much about all this - all the info on the internet usually causes undue stress :) If you had an infection you would probably feel unwell, and possibly have a fever.
In terms of sitting - I was sitting a few days after surgery - but with my feet elevated so as to take pressure off that "area".

Hope you're having a good holiday! Just noticed that you're in Canada too :)