I have an abscess burst and I'm pretty sure it's a fistula now. Still waiting for first appointment with family doctor. I didn't grow up here and don't know much about local hospital/health system. So which is better a choice to have such a surgery, in hospital or a colorectal clinic? Should I find a colorectal surgeon? Can a general surgeon do this as well? I live in Waterloo Region, can anybody give me some clue? Thanks!

Very stressful now. But I believe we all can get through this.

Hi lifegoeson ... I'm not from Ontario I'm east coast here Nova Scotia to be exact ... I had an abscess that was drained and turned to a fistula ... I went to my family doc where she told me what it was and that I needed it drained but all the day patient clinics were so busy they couldn't fit me in so I ended up at the emergency room for a 14hr wait to have it drained... After that I was referred to the doc who specializes in that body area a colorectal specialist which was 2 months after the drainage took place and that's when they confirmed it was now a fistula and I would need surgery to correct it but this doc was too busy for something so minor and I was referred to another doc ... In the end my doc who performed my fistulotomy and seton suture was a general surgeon but also happened to be the chief of surgery for the last 20yrs at my hospital ... I wasn't this docs first case like this and unfortunately this type of issue sometimes keeps the focs blind cuz they don't know how deep or how much muscle is involved ... I had my surgery on dec 10 last year and knock on wood things are getting back to normal .. I'm scared to say I'm healed incase something comes back or flares up but I have no leaking hole in my butt cheek lol .... I know our health care is free here in Canada but our wait times can be long ... Don't be afraid to use ur emergency room they can make referrals faster then a family doc ... I know as time passed my fistula got worse more painful, more clogging up etc ... From start to finish for me this whole process last around 10-11months ... If u have any questions this place is great for knowledge as everyone seems to have a bit of a different story and have lots of great advice ... You will get through this ... The only way to get rid of a fistula is with surgery ur on the right path ... Keep us updated and if u need to chat we are all here :)

Thanks Dewlilly! I'm so happy for your great recovery. I think my situation would be not very good because I have been ignored it too long. It started last September (2013) when I noticed that my butt was growing stuff. It was a red hard lump. I thought it was a boil or something and before I'm thinking about to go see a dermatologist it was gone, left behind an small area harder than other parts. Then started at around the new year it had been back and gone a couple of times. Till end of March it grew large enough and burst. I still thought it was a boil because boils burst and heal. I put antibiotic on it and covered it with gauze pad. Pus discharging lasted for more than a month that's when I finally realized that something must be wrong. I started my intensive web diagnosis process and...here I am. These are pretty all I can share for now. Will try to keep updating you guys.

Everyone keep the faith.

I'm in Toronto which is close enough to Waterloo. I've had 3 surgeries to date and I'm pretty much healed now.
Please send me a private message and I can tell who I recommend, and who I don't - I've been dealing with this for years so really did my research. The surgeon who did all my surgeries is awesome and I would definitely recommend her.

Thanks diamond. I've sent you a private message but I'm not sure if it got through. It took about half a day to appear in the "sent messages" folder.

May I ask you guys another question? Is it normal to ask the family doctor to change referrals? My doctor has referred me to a surgeon and I've went to the first appointment, we didn't make the decision on surgery yet. At this stage, if I found some other specialist and ask for a new referral, will my family doctor change it?

Thanks!

I'll check - sorry things have been busy and I haven't been on here in a while.
Yes it's normal to ask for another referral - I had multiple referrals as my original surgeon was a quack (I'm convinced!).
I actually threatened to go to the US for surgery and that's when my family doc referred me to my excellent surgeon. I'll respond to your message!

LifeGoesOn - I tried to send you a message, not sure if you did get it? Anyway I did see your message where you've indicated that you now have a referral to a better surgeon. Let us know how it goes - and if it doesn't work out for some reason you now have my doctor's name, and I would not hesitate to recommend her!

Thanks diamond! How's going with your healing? I've been kinda busy and didn't log in here for the last 2 months.

My situation is not good. After more than 2 months of waiting I couldn't even get the first appointment. Today I called the doctor's office and they told me that maybe I have to wait for another couple of months. What makes things worse is that I started to feel some pain inside since last week.

How long did you wait for your first appointment and surgery? Maybe I should ask my family doctor to send a referral to your surgeon...

LifeGoesOn - I haven't been on this site in months. I hope things worked out for you?! Any luck getting through to my surgeon? So far I'm okay - a little bit of bleeding sometimes from the scar tissue/site of the incision but overall life is almost back to normal. I need to do a re-clean constantly and that's annoying but nothing like dealing with the actual fistula itself.

LifeGoesOn - I haven't been on this site in months. I hope things worked out for you?! Any luck getting through to my surgeon? So far I'm okay - a little bit of bleeding sometimes from the scar tissue/site of the incision but overall life is almost back to normal. I need to do a re-clean constantly and that's annoying but nothing like dealing with the actual fistula itself.