Recovery after Sphincterotomy and Hemorrhoidectomy

I'm a 32 yr old female, and had my sphincterotomy almost three weeks ago.  I'm still in pain, but not quite as much.  I can fully relate to "giving birth to a pineapple" and the feeling of passing glass with a BM.  I was prescribed tramadol.  I was also given morphine when I went to the ER at one point.  I dealt with the fissure pain for years, but recently had a "pustule" (as the doctor called it) form at the posterior end of my anus. I couldn't tell how big it was, and was worried it was an abscess because I could feel a hard lump at least the size of a marble. The surgeon left this lump there (much to my painful dismay) however he cut off my sentinal tabs (formed from the fissure) and sliced my sphincter to relieve pressure on the fissure.  I'm still not 100% that the surgery worked, but I will give it more time. I hope I do not need follow up surgery to remove the lump, whatever it may be.  Could even be a torn muscle.   I take stool softeners, metamucil, and Clearlax daily to help.  I also try not to take many pain meds as they constipate thus creating more pain.  If you can deal with the severe "pineapple" daily you're almost in the clear, unless it decides to throb afterwards.  Sitz baths daily also help.  I've been off work for approx. a month.  This causes more stress than any job ever could.  I've had numerous breakdowns, and can't count the amount of times I've cried.  I was REALLY scared for the surgery, but knew I needed it.  Honestly, after the surgery didn't feel much worse having a BM than before hand.  It certainly was black and blue and scary looking, but felt about the same.  Sometimes slightly lifting yourself off of the toilet seat helps... relieves a little bit of pressure. Glycerin suppositories also help if you find yourself "stuck."  Good luck my friends and I hope everyone heals properly and can one day go back to a life without pain and worry.

I'm a 23 year old male, and had a sphincterotomy 2 days ago, and am writing to remind people that despite some horrible stories which are posted on here, please remember that most people with successful surgeries will be less likely to seek help online and post their success stories, compared to those who have had bad experiences and need an outlet. I am a very fit and active guy and was tired of the effect the fissure pain was having on my kickboxing, my confidence, my ability to concentrate in uni lectures, and my social life. The specialist I saw removed an anal fistula for me about 10 months ago and I have a lot of respect and trust for him, so when he recommended the surgery for the fissure I agreed. He told me I could go back to normal activites the following day, and he was right. Despite feeling a little uncomfortable, I was straight back in to my normal routine of 4 hours at uni then 6 hours at work. The one thing I have in common with everyone else on here is that the first BM the day after the surgery was extremely painful and bled a little more than I expected which worried me a little, but I jumped straight in the bath afterwards and the pain went away after about 5-10 minutes. Today was my second day since the surgery and I went to uni and work again, and even felt comfortable enough to go to kickboxing training tonight, which all went fine. My second BM was still painful and had a bit of blood, but it was better than the first. The way I am going now I think I should be completely pain-free in a few more days, hopefully no more than a week. The point I've tried to make is that my surgery and recovery are going exactly how my surgeon told me it would, so just make sure you find a respected specialist and follow their advice and I think the odds will be that everything will be alright. Don't let the horrible stories on here discourage you, if you are uncomfortable the way you are, do something about it!

Hi guys,

I'm a 22-year old female, and had a lateral sphinteroctomy - along with several other procedures in the area- 4 days ago. After reading about some of the bad experiences some people have had on here I thought I'd share my experience thus far post-op, because - as GETITDONE said - people who have had good experiences are less likely to post than those who have had a horrible time!

Just over 2 years ago I went away on a month-long trip to South Africa, and - whilst I still maintain it was the best trip of my life - I came back with a less-than-pleasant souvenir. During my time away - despite scrupulous hygiene - I caught a severe bug and was laid up with the worst sickness and diarrhoea imaginable for several days, followed by the worst constipation conceivable upon my trip back/arrival home. I won't go into the details, but long story short, I developed quite a soreness and pretty severe bleeding every time I went for a BM. Being pretty embarassed about it - and not being one to run to the doctor - I thought it best to soldier through it and that the problem would solve itself given enough time.

Unfortunately, the problem gradually got worse and worse over time rather than better, to the point where - 1 and a half years after the problem started - I decided it was time to drag myself to the doctor. I was dianosed with a fissure and tight sphincter, and given creams, laxatives and painkillers to try and help the healing along. 6 months of waiting later, nothing had worked, and I returned to the doctors and got referred to a specialist straight after. According to the 'specialist' my fissure had 'healed' (though I could feel/knew this was not totally the case), but as I had developed internal haemmarhoids at this point I was booked in for day surgery to get them removed. Due to my persistance, he also agreed to book me in for a more thorough internal exam under anaesthetic, with a view to doing a lateral sphinteroctomy, if required.

During my procedure they not only ended up performing the sphinteroctomy along with the haemorrhoidectomy, but they ended up finding and opening up an anal fistula too, so sufficed to say I'd had a far amount done by the time I came around. Initially I couldn't feel too much due to the numbing injection they'd given me in the op, but I could tell I was quite sore and swollen, and as I got the soreness increased, but I was able to get settled and comfortable lying in my room with my knees up and some co-codamol to help me along the way. 

Day 1 post op I was fairly sore and not too mobile, spending the best part of the day in bed, only getting up to bathe or wee - but to be honest it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. I had my first BM that evening - which I was DREADING - but when it came round to it it really wasn't that bad. I just made sure to leave it to the very last minute urgency-wise, so I wouldn't have to strain too much, and even though it took a fair amount of effort/bleeding, it really wasn't that much worse than my fissure was when it was at its worst. I think I've had the co-codamol to have to thank for this mostly, so I definitely advise taking those every 4 hours routinely for the first few days following the op, whether you feel like you need them or not, as it keeps a lot of the pain off.

Days 2 and 3 I was surprised at how much better I felt with each day. Day 2 I was mostly laid up again, but moved around a little, and day 3 I spent a surprising around of time pottering around the house, and even had a go at precariously sitting down for short amounts of time. 

Its now day 4 and I'm amazed at how well I feel. I'm still sore, sure, but I've downgraded to taking just paracetamol and ibuprofen today, and actually went for a walk into town and back, spending a total of 4 hours out today. When I came back I was pretty tired, but I think that's only natural considering. Tomorrow I'm off to work starting a new job, so I couldn't of asked for my progress to be any better :). 

I've felt so much better post op than I was expecting, and best advice I can give is that you shouldn't build your fears up based on other people's bad experiences. As long as you're sensivble - taking it one stage at a time, being careful how you sit and taking small steps as you walk - and you keep up the painkillers and bathing, you will be surprised how quickly you heal. From doctors orders, I've used co codamol for pain, and requested lactulose post op too, and have bathed after each BM and 4 times a day otherwise.

Taking advice from other posters, I used a mix of rough salt (only a moderate amount or else it stings!) and germolene with hot water to clean the op area, and baby wipes (alcohol and fragrance free, or it irritates the wound!) to clean myself after going to the toilet. 

Overall, all I can say is I was really scared pre-op based on what I'd read, but even only the 4th day post-op, I feel so much better in that area than I've felt for 2 years. And in my book, that makes this brief period of soreness, carefulness and routine painkilling/hygiene more than 100% worth it :)

Hi, just tuning in and will share my Hemorhoidectomy experience. I had the procededure 7 days ago, removing 2 complete veins which were just streched out and rupturing from 22 years of heavy strenious lifting. They left the smaller 3rd on fearing ass could tighten too tight??? 1st off dont eat c**p food. Secondly Im not taking any of my prescribed pain killers. That will just constipate you and Narcotics arent going to make you heal any faster. Your bodys pain threshold will, and keep you in tune with what you need to do to heal. Yes pooping hurts, I hate it. But dont eat a steak either. 1st thing is not to push your limits, if you even have a second guess if your activity is going to hurt you, dont do it. Eat well, rest, and sleep is healing, also walk around. 3 days post Im walking my dog, doctor told me walking is good. I tried the stool softeners prescribed but they are way too powerful for my system and think they irrate (bleeding), Im not using any but diet now. Id reccomend a mild natural type otherwise. Bottom line is, tough it out and its for the better. You wont complain when your meds wear off and youll poop regularly. Yes theres blood constantly leaking and when you wipe, but hoping leaking will go away in a week or so. Yes its a suck situation, but with some self dicipline youll get over it, and sooner the better. Narcotics fill the doctors wallets, not yours. Common sense is #1. Best luck to all the sore asses out there, including mine.

Mrudula, You just described what I am feeling perfectly, except the pain meds are not touching the severe pain. It feels like I have to go to the washroom but nothing happens except piercing agony.

I was tempted to go back to the hospital cause something seems wrong. I also have bleeding, I was given Oxy cotton, and an antibiotic, I was told to also take advil and tylonol every six hours but nothing is working.

I was s desperate tonight that I tried smoking a joint for the first time in over 10 years and it did nothing for the pain.

I can't sleep for longer then an hour or two with waking up with the pain.

Has anyone else been through this to this extent?

Who was your surgeon?

wqs you able to sit down after op or just lie downx x

I had the sphincterotomy and banding of hemmroids that were caused by the fissure
The pain from the fissure developed over the past 10 yrs- to get much worse over time, after the nitrol meds did not completely heal the fissure, I decided that I trusted my surgeon ( he saved my fathers life) and I knew his skills are top notch,
After the spinal lidocane wore off - I was in much less pain compared to what I dealt with after passing a large stool before the operation - less than 2 weeks post-op I returned to work (yesterday) The operation was a success and I would definetely not be worried 4-8 weeks later you will be glad you did this- this is not an extremely major surgery, but a sucessful recovery depends on no constipation and drink 6-8 glasses of water, my only minor issue was 2 meds (anti- biotic and omneprazole) that my system could not handle so I stopped the anti-bio meds after a few days and never picked up omneprazole as in my past experience that stuff is bad !

I had a patrial internal sphinctererectomy for haemoriods yesterday , I don't know how the op went as my surgeon had gone home befor I could talk to him , but I am in a lot of pain and BM are a killer I have never felt pain like it . I'm hoping it was all worth it . After a yr of suffering I've had enough . Hope u get better soon an take care x

i had my banding done 5 days ago only takin paracetomal as other meds give me constipation i had enough of the burning stabbin and throbbing now scared to eat as i know it gonna have to come out lol x x x

most of all, we should be understanding that the treatment of fissures and hemorrhoids are slightly different. Small hemorrhoids need ligation, which is usually a painless procedure, and large hemorrhoids need excision, which is painful, but nowadays, there is a new technique called stapler hemorrhoidectomy, which is usually painless, again is for small and fairly large hemorrhiods, but not for large and painful prolapsed hemorrhoids. Fissures on the other hand are painful, and it can be treated by sphincterotomy, which cuts the internal anal sphincter. Those who are having pain post-hemorrhoidectomy or having anal fissures should have medical sphincteroemy first, in the form of glyceryl trinitrate ointment, I am really surprised none of your doctors prescribed you this. It relaxes the sphincter, and pain decreases, leading to healing of the fissure, and also decreases the pain post-hemorrhoidectomy. and also, after anal surgeries, you should be applying lignocaine jelly into the anal canal before defecation , it will decrease pain during defecation. Hope it will benefit you.

Hi I wanted to share my recent experience

Hi I wanted to share my recent experience of my issues over the last year of having an anal fissure.

I am male and in my early 30s and like to keep fit. Out of nowhere I got an anal fissure which resulted (after about 1 year on and off) to be horrendously painful for around 5 hours after a BM. I literally mean life changing pain.

I had had enough of the pain which was badly affecting my life so took the decision to undergo the LIS surgery and also fissurectomy despite being nervous about the potential side affects (wind etc).

I am now 2 weeks post operation and the pain following (and during) a BM has reduced from 9/10 to 2/10 - I am so glad I undertook the operation and would strongly recommend to anyone who experienced the same level of pain as me.

I will say that I have not totally recovered though and still have some surcharge (presumably from the cut) and also some itching and pain from the area (sometimes I get a painful rash after walking around).

I am happy to take any questions anyone has?



What I would say is that you should take all comments on here with a pinch of salt and always listen to your consultant....he knows best!



This really is a terrible condition and needs treated so good luck to everyone and I am hopeful my bum heals up 100% in the next few weeks and I can get back to sport!

I had my surgery the first week of September 2012. had a sphincterotomy  and banded internal hemorrhoid. for @ 10 years i suffered every time i had a bm with unbearable pain. lasting 5 hrs or longer from a bad fissure and internal and external hem's.  I did find that if i lay upside down in my bed with my feet and legs against the wall and butt in the air relieved the pain. but, a few mins after laying down normal the pain would return. Finally opted for the surgery. After reading all the horror stories on these message boards i almost opted out. Now, 3 months later I am so glad i did the surgery. The worst pain from the surgery was right after i woke up in the recovery room. So very painful. was regretting it then but the nurse gave me 2 Vicodin. didn't help. two more Vicodin. Still didnt take away the pain. finally after the second shot of demoral. Then i was in la la land.  made the ride home and the pain was intense but bearable. took 4 Vicodin that evening and from then on only had to take Tylenol extra strength to keep the pain minimal. drank lots of water and ate only soft foods like puddings, fruit cups, and bananas. The pain wasn't all that bad from the second day on. i did still have the large external hem' but the doc said that it would go away. i didn't believe him and was upset that he didn't cut that out as well. but, in time, it went away on its own with no problem. I was bleeding and had to wear man pads for about 2 weeks. after about 2 days I kept feeling as if i needed to have a bm. so i would sit but not strain and still nothing. 5 days later my wife called the doc. and told them that I think im constipated. He advised taking milk of magnesia with lots of water. that evening i went with and although it was a bit painful, it wasn't as bad as what I've read on here. I did jump directly into the tub of hot water and it helped ease the pain a lot. An yes it sounds gross but like i have read on here, i to did have a bm in the tub once and it wasn't as painful. only because i had diarrhea from the milk of magnesia. the days to follow got so much better. I did hurt if i stood too long or if i sat too long but got better with each day. In fact I rode my lawn mower and cut a 1/2 acre of my grass by the second week. The bleeding stopped @ 2 weeks after surgery and i was back to work ( driving truck ) after three weeks. The pain was off and on but not unbearable. I did bleed again for a couple of days @ 6 weeks later and from what the doc said is that was from the stitches coming out. The most aggravating part was the leakage of stool after bm. I would wipe clean with moist wipes yet an hour later be in a mess again as if i never wiped. started wearing pads again but over time that has stopped as well due to the muscles getting stronger. Now. 3 months later the only problem i have is accidentally passing gas. just kinda slips out when ever lol. a little embarrassing but im sure i will get full control over that in time.  Absolutely no pain! I even had a very large bm last nite and was a bit constipated but no pain or bleeding during or after. If i would have had a bm like that before the surgery Im sure that I would still be in pain this morning. Just wanted to put this out there and give you all some encouragement. Do it! Its well worth it! Good luck and wish you all a speedy recovery.

I had a sphincterotomy for an anal fissure (and hemorrhoidectomy of 2 internal hemorrhoids) last Wednesday (5 days ago). Yesterday I felt well enough to go walking (4.5km in 2 hours). This morning my bowel movement was accompanied by a burning pain that was not there in my previous BMs post-op. The burning sensation persisted until after I took a sitz bath. There had also been a lump in the anal area post-op. It had grown and can be quite sore (it wasn't before). Has anyone experienced these symptoms? I am worried that they are due to infection. I.e. that the lump is an anal abscess (the lump is soft and there seems to be no discharge) and the burning sensation during BM due to infection of the fissure. Or the fissure had been disrupted again. Or is this just part of the healing process?

Btw, a few additional info. Although I'm not quite recovered yet, like what many have posted I am also happy with my decision to have the sphincterotomy. I've been taking an anti-inflammatory analgesic (etoricoxib) and lactulose twice a day since after the operation. I've also been drinking lots of water. For fear of developing anal stenosis, I've been eating a normal intake of food (with extra fiber from lots of vegetables) but I'll cut this down because of the recent burning BM episode I mentioned above.

I appreciate any input and I wish everyone the best of health :)