Recovery after Sphincterotomy and Hemorrhoidectomy

All the above assisted the healing and pain control after my op. Two months later I was back t normal. !2 months later now and I have forgotten all about the op. Except when I use the lavatory. That op not only healed the painful condition I was in but it also fixed a small hygiene issue that was due to the 'roids' being where they were. Go ahead and have your op. You will be pleased you did. Sheers

I had an annual fissure removed and a sphincterotomy procedure 11 months ago. The after experience was painful for about 4 weeks and then I suddenly had no pain and much easier bowel movements. Nearly a year has gone by and no return of symptoms or problems. This operation works if you get an experienced surgeon.

Hi Hannigan, Do you really think the lichen caused the fissure? I had the same thing. Sylviane

I had the operation on Dec. 11th. It was an inter sphincterotomy and then a internal hemorrhoidectomy. I was supposed to be back to work after 5 day s and there was no way. On the 7th day I got the stomach flu and vomited. I guess it undid something beccause 2 days later at work I hemorrhaged and had to go back in and have the tear repaired. That was on the 20th of Dec. I went back to work 4 days late and that was a bad, bad mistake. The stomach flu returned and I had pain and bleeding and the BM's were a nightmare. It was so awful and I have had to be treated three times for an infection. I am on the antibiotics for the third time as I was still having the bleeding, the pain, stinging up in there and if I didn't take Phillips Milk of Magnesia and stool softener it would put me right down on the floor. This was suppposed to be a fairly simple operation I was told but it has been an utter nightmare and I still feel so tired and done in. It has been well over a month. I was very glad to hear I was not the only one with problems.

I had an external hemorrhoid the size of ping pong ball, and internal as well.  I had surgery on june early, it is now feb and just now beginning to feel somewhat normal.. well almost normal.  my advice is after the surgery... watch what you eat!!!! just take the pain meds if you need them and you will.  Drink plenty of water, take your metamucil/ etc.  I only ate soups, veggies, maybe an once or 2 of fish, no hard meats, NO bread, nothing that promotes hard poop.  I also lost 50 lbs...which as a former fatboy was welcomed...That is my silver lining, is what kept my sanity.

the first 2 weeks are hell...do your soaks in hot tub bath, it helps!!!!  3 weeks I returned to work,,,big mistake.  I toughed it out but should have taken off 2 months minimal.  

The poop are followed by this weird cramping discomfort for a few hrs that feels like everything is going to fall out of you.  It isn't but in time this goes away.  Once you are past a few months you will be glad you had it done.  I am now finally gonna get back to running and training.

I have kept the weight off and I still monitor closely all that goes into my mouth... Every thing must have fiber, no white flour stuff, limit starches big time, drink plenty of water.  Its my friend now.

This is one of the most real and positive feedback about the surgery. I do half iron mans as well, and that is what really prompt me to get my surgery done, can't bike and miss my bike. So thank you very much for sharing this information. Well done on the Ironman! ml, Marina

Not that bad...

I'm a 42 y/o male and quite healthy and active.

I had a sphincterotomy for a chronic anal fissure.  I've had very painful bms and recurring fissures since I was in college, some twenty years now.  After trying everything short of botox - no way I'm wasting botox on my butt, I finally decided to get it sorted out once and for all.  Before my surgery on Friday, I did something really stupid.  I started reading about people's experiences online post surgery on the day before my procedure.  If you're compelled to read these "reviews," please know that not everyone's experience is awful.  I thought I was going to be overwhelmed with pain post-op.  I wasn't, and I'm the biggest baby there ever was.  Actually I was quite shocked at the lack of pain.  My doctor prescribed some pretty strong pain meds, and, as of today, I've taken 2 or 3 and probably won't take anymore.  I just had my first bm since the procedure, and, while not the most pleasant thing, it certainly wasn't anywhere near the more painful bms I've had in the past.  Granted, I poop every 3 - 4 days - just my cycle.  So I had a few days down there before it had to do some work.  The whole reason for having the procedure done is because of persistant pain and lack of healing.  I'm pretty used to bathroom breaks being unpleasant.  This was no more painful than an average bm.  Actually, it felt better than it has in the past.  I can already feel improvement.  As for incontinence  not a problem in the least.  I feel so good I'm going back to the gym today - I've taken four days off.  I thought I wouldn't be able to workout for at least a week or two.  In total, I took two days off before going back to work - and one of those days was the surgery.

Bottom line, my surgeon was incredible (even calling me on Saturday the day after the procedure just to check on how it was going - I was shocked!).  MAKE SURE (I never use caps) your surgeon is a colon/rectal certified person.  My pain isn't all that, I promise.   I'm glad I did it - my insurance paid 100%.

Good luck! 

I'm having surgery Thurs......my surgeon said., I won't begin to lie to u......it is extremely painful...but u are in daily pain as of now.....and this will heal. I PRAY it does what it it supposed to.....having Sphincterotomy and externals removed ....not excited but ready to heal.

I had this surgery 2 days ago and its been a piece of cake. The pain is minimal. The most pain I had was hair sticking to the tape when removing the dressing. I had no pain with BM which is what I was scared of. The only meds that I am taking are percocet ( about 3 a day) and a perscribed stool softner. I had 2 roids removed and the lateral sphincterotomy and scar tissue removed. People, dont believe the horror stories! Do it!

had my surgery on the 23rd of Feb and had 4 internals banded, a lateral sphincteronomy, and 6 external tags removed.....it was extremely painful for the first few days....I have a high tolerance for pain......but the first few....no pain pills could touch....however after the like three day hump...I was good.....gotta say the soaking every hour or so was a lifesaver! I love my Doctor, I now have a normal appearance! lol

Hello again, here's an update at 1 & 1/2 years post-sphincterotomy / fissurectomy (I see my original posted ended quite bleakly):

Shortly after the initial couple of weeks post-op, BM's started becoming easier, and after maybe 6 months, I was back to what I'd guess was normal sphincter functioning, which I hadn't had in YEARS.  The intense post-BM pain (which I now attribute to spasms of the sometimes-exposed, healing muscle) stopped after 3-4 weeks, but the hours of post-BM soreness actually continued for around 9 months.  I also started to develop periodic itching / irritation at the site of the sphincter incision / external hemorrhoid removal, especially right after a BM, and would need to clean up several times over 1-2 hours before the wipe would be completely clean.  I attributed the itching to the healing process, since there was still a "lump" at the site.  At my 6-month follow-up, my doctor said that normally the area should have softened up after a year or so, but it could be a keloid (thick, hardened scar tissue), and to come back if it was still giving me grief at the one year mark. 

Fast-forward to that point, and it was definitely still giving me grief!  There was still a lump which seemed to have grown much bigger and would swell up following a BM (which still required 1-2 hours of cleaning); the area seemed to emit a yellowish discharge at times throughout the day, and I had episodes of severe itching that could only be relieved by vigorously rubbing the area from outside my clothes (not something you want to do in public!)

So at 14 months I went back to my doctor, who said I had indeed formed a keloid, and 3 large external hemorrhoids at the same area, so I scheduled the removal surgery, which is tomorrow.  While he would only speculate that the pain during recovery could be the same or less than that of my previous surgery since he has a somewhat large area to remove, I'm trying to remain optimistic that it will not be as bad, as he's not making an incision in the sphincter muscle... but I plan on taking pain meds as needed.  I'm also planning on following a regimen of lots of bulking fiber, water and stool softeners, which I hope will result in regular (not too frequent) but easy BM's.

As always, best of luck to everyone here!

I just read that pus or clear drainage with the presents of blood is normal for this surgery .. I just had the surgery on Monday, I'm sitting on ice at the moment, just soaked in the tub for an hour before that, taking some pain meds with 400mlgms of Ibuprofen twice a day.. Things seem to be doing well except for my activity level is to high.. I'm also taking 2 stool softens a day, I'm eating anywhere from 6 to 10 prunes to keep my bowels moving and stool soft, drinking plenty of water and finally just got my sleep caught up.. A good breakfast is Oatmeal with fresh Papaya, peaches and honey.. It's soft, very healthy, and tastes great.. Hope this helps, good luck!

Why so many horror stories?

Im in bay area Calif. Have a fissure. Thinking of surgery.any around here. Offer recent review on this surgery.lots of bad stories here.

Hi, I also had a lump following sphincterotomy / fissurectomy / hemorrhoidectomy -- read my posts for full details. My doctor said it was normal and could take a year or so to soften and heal smooth. In my case it never went away but that doesn't happen to everyone. Be sure to ask your Dr about it at your follow-up appts. Also you may want to continue the high fiber and water -- in my case it limits my BM's to once a day, whereas before I went 2-3 times a day.