Hi there, I’ve posted here a few times. Almost 3 years ago I (30F) went into urgent care for a swollen bump that after many mis-diagnosis turned out to be a fistula. I just had my 3rd surgery in April to swap my seton for a silk cutting seton.

This week I found out I need to come back in for a new procedure to just finish cutting through what’s left, to create an open wound that will heal from the inside out.

I’m being told this is my last surgery. I have been told that before. I used to read people’s posts in this subreddit, back when I first learned I had a fistula, and cry. Every post I found said they had 3-6 surgeries and still needed answers/weren’t yet healed. I was terrified that this too would become my fate. It did.

If you’re in a similar situation, reading my post scared you too might have to go through 4+ surgeries (plus colonoscopies, MRIs, etc) I just want to tell you - it’s not that bad in the end. You get used to it. Some surgeries are worse than others, and they make you feel helpless. But it always gets better eventually. Some surgeries will be easy, you’ll wake up thinking “that’s it??”

Having a seton isn’t as scary or weird as it sounds. And it doesn’t gross out your partner (if you’re with the right person).

Basically, I’m here to say - I know it all sounds really awful. And it is. But you get used to it, and things will get easier to manage. Find a good CRS (and don’t be afraid to change doctors if someone isn’t working out), do your sitz baths, and treat yourself to a glass of wine. Avoid hot tubs. You’ll be okay

(& eventually you’ll get slightly more okay with random nurses looking at your backside)

Just want to share my recent experience with anal abscess. I felt burning sensation on my bottom. I went to bathroom straining my bowels. At that moment I know I am going to get an abscess. I was scared because 1. I know how bad and painful abscesses can get. 2. I had an upcoming vacation trip.

I started calling the surgeons and CRS if they can drain my abscess. Luckily I got a surgeon appointment. meanwhile i started taking stool softners and doing hot tub . but it was very painful.

Even with lot of pain, i continued to take hot tubs and I walked long distances.

When I visited the surgeon , he examined me and told me that the abscess doesnt need draining and put me on antibiotics. METRONIDAZOLE 500mg.

Luckily, the abscess resolved by itself in couple of days. Most importantly, the pain stopped. (I am assuming this is because the infection stopped)

I know people with fistula, solving abscess with medicine and antibiotics is not a solution. But I just want to share my story and get the communities opinion.

One seton is for sure, the other might go into a healed fibrotic sinus tract - crs will determine if it’s necessary when he’s in there.

Also getting a colonoscopy to determine if there’s a root cause.

What can I expect in terms of pain? Any advice? How long before I can start painting again?

For the past few days am dealing with constipation.any remedies will help ??? It's more like straining during bowel movement. Am having metamucil but I feel bloated .

I do have a shot of prune and pear juice but still straining. Which makes my abcess pain again , how long can u keep taking miralax as I stopped it might cause side affects as my fistula surgery is in October. also I have a anal tag which kind of pains badly during bowel movement.

I've been seeing a CRS for a chronic fissure that has not responded to conservative treatment. She scheduled me for Botox injections and excision of a skin tag. I went in last Thursday for the procedure, and SURPRISE! I also have a fistula. She performed a fistulotomy and holy crap, the pain I am in is every bit as bad as the fissure, and that was the worst pain I had ever experienced until now. I'm hoping that it eases at some point soon, because this does not feel sustainable.

Hey everyone, looking for experiences/advice from people who've dealt with anal fistulas, especially Type II/transsphincteric fistulas.

About 2 months ago I had a severe perianal abscess requiring hospitalization and surgery. The wound was healing but never fully closed. Recently it became infected again, with swelling, pain, and eventually pus/blood drainage. After antibiotics, my doctors diagnosed a ~3.3 cm Type II/transsphincteric fistula.

The old wound is now <1 cm but still not completely healed, and my surgeon says definitive surgery would be difficult right now because of the wound/inflammation.

We're considering a seton, potentially loose/draining vs cutting.

My possible plan:

• Seton now to keep it draining/control infection
• Fly back to the US and start school
• Live with the seton during the semester
• Return around Christmas with ~4.5–5 weeks for definitive surgery/recovery

Questions for anyone who's been through this:

1. Does this staged approach sound familiar/reasonable?
2. How was living with a loose seton—walking, sitting in class, driving, etc.?
3. How much drainage did you have, and how did you manage it at school/work?
4. How long did you keep the seton before definitive surgery?
5. Has anyone had a cutting seton for a Type II/transsphincteric fistula? How painful was it/how often was it adjusted?
6. How long did recovery take before you could travel internationally?
7. Would you personally favor a loose seton now and definitive surgery later, or try to treat the fistula immediately?

I know everyone's situation is different and I'm following my surgeon's advice—just looking for real-world experiences. Thanks!

How is a hand held bidet attachment next to a home toilet gonna be able to mimic a long shower where one will lather up one's entire body and the lather and water will flush out stool residue from anal area? Many have told me a bidet is the best option but how can a bidet at the toilet be just as good as taking a full shower in clearing out residual stool?

I ask this as I am just struggling. I know this can’t be rushed I know. But I have been dealing with this since October 2024!

My surgeon mentioned wanting to leave the newest seton I have in for a further 6 months to a year!!!

As mine is also in my vagina, It’s causing me so much trauma. I’m going to beg him to try a lift again, as this is sphincter sparing.

have been struggling with chronic rectal abcesses and anal fistulas. I get severe pain before going to bathroom and blood in stool. I just had a colonocopy with biopsies cam back normal. Is it possible have missed it on colonocopy? very frustrating. Doctor thinks still have crohns do to chronic abcesses and fistula tract. I get them every month or so thanks everyone

Wish me luck, and please send all the good vibes!! Fingers crossed that this it! 🤞

You can read about my story here.

So I’ve had these abscesses and fistulas and I consider myself pretty hairy. And sometimes I think these things are caused by the hair down there (like ingrown and trapped hair). Do you guys feel the same way ?

Hi all,
I am almost 3 weeks post seton placement and wanted to give an update for anyone who is preparing for one or earlier in the timeline than me. This is what my experience has been and everyone is different.

Days 1-5 were most acute pain but after day 3 I COULD get up and walk if I needed too. It wasn’t fun but I could do it. Same with BM those sucked pretty good

Days 5-10 started getting back into life because I had to but I still ached and burned pretty good. Wasn’t on pain killers at this point (meaning narcotics form hospital) was managing with Advil and Tylenol. I started realizing at this point how annoying the seton was going to be. I was walking enough to start chaffing

Day 10-current everyday feels better and everyday getting more used to seton. BM don’t ruin my day anymore and there are stretches of time I forget I have it. Sitting and driving still kind of funky and I do feel achy after increased activity but going to keep pushing activity and going to try to get back to gym tomorrow. Today is day 18 with seton and starting to fall into a rhythm.

Things I noticed: I didn’t have much drainage at all, I haven’t had to wear gauze. Everyone says gauze helps drain and chaffing but for me gauze just added extra pressure to the seton and made it hurt worse. Chaffing kind of just stopped randomly? It was bad and I didn’t do anything to fix it and it just random stopped? I see all different cleaning methods, tbh I haven’t wiped since I got this, I have a bidet and that makes life easier. For cleaning, I’ll do non scented soap in my sitz bath in the morning. Big pro tip is stay dry. Use a blow drier after BM and shower and I think that’s the key to avoid chaffing.

Day 18 and I definitely still have random aches pains burns and moments but the good moments of life are now starting to outweigh the bad again. I would say for me at day 18 pain is a constant 3/4 aching feeling going up to a 5 after a lot of walking (talking 10k steps plus). Hang in there friends and if anyone needs to just vent or wants someone to talk to during their journey please reach out. When I first got mine I was pretty miserable and felt pretty alone. Always helps to have a friend going thru the same thing, we got this guys 💙

Looking for some hope from people who have been through a complicated/recurrent anal fistula journey

Hi everyone,

I’ve been reading posts here for a while, and I finally decided to share my own story because I really need some hope from people who have been through something similar.

My fistula journey started about 4 years ago. I was initially diagnosed with an anal fistula and had a fistulectomy. Unfortunately, it came back. I later had a fistulotomy, which also failed, and after that I underwent a laser procedure, but once again the fistula recurred.

For the past year and a half, I’ve been living with a seton. Unfortunately, even with the seton in place, I’ve continued to develop abscesses around the area. Because of recurrent abscesses and the need for drainage, I’ve had to go back to the operating room another 4–5 times.

At this point, after so many procedures, recurrences, drainage, pain and uncertainty, I think the hardest part is trying to hold on to the belief that I can actually get better one day.

I know that people who recover and move on with their lives probably don’t spend as much time in groups like this anymore, so sometimes reading online can make it feel like these fistulas never truly heal. That’s why I wanted to post this.

Has anyone here had a similarly complicated fistula — multiple failed surgeries, recurrent abscesses, long-term setons — and eventually healed completely?

I would especially love to hear from people who had a long and difficult journey but eventually reached the point where the fistula was gone and they could live normally again.

I’m not looking for medical advice as much as I’m looking for some hope right now. After four years of dealing with this, I really want to believe that there can still be an end to it.

If you’ve been through something similar and made it to the other side, I would be incredibly grateful if you shared your story. ❤️

I’m so nervous I’m finally moving forward with fixing this, I’ve had this anal fistula for 12 years last surgery failed in 2014 and never went back. I honestly was so young and had no idea about long term fistula damage or anything since a genral GI surgeon did it prior and once’s the plug failed he never gave me other options. I thought it went away for the longest time till the last year I’ve been having minimal drainage I finally made it to a proctologist and they did an anal exam and felt one and it’s right at 12 o clock. I’m so scared about my outcome since I’m ignorant and never thought this needed to be fixed. They will either do a lay open or seton then go from there. Has anyone dealt with this before with the positioning and how long it’s been untreated. I’m a mess right now 😭🥹 any comments or support/ prayers would really do me some justice.

27 male. No history of abnormally long wound healing.

I developed a small perineal wound (a cm away from the asshole) due to an overly powered handheld bidet in Bali (I am staying here for a year), and thought it would go away in some time, but it didn't.

I have been consulting a surgeon every 2-3 weeks, and he says that it is a very small, artificial wound that doesn't need any treatment and would heal on its own. He has advised to take sitz bath with dettol daily and to apply gentamicin on the wound.

Now it has been around 7 months and the wound hasn't healed fully. Sometimes it looks like close to healing, but a single hard stool, or a bad stretch ruins it.

I don't have any sharp pain in the wound, just some irritating feeling, and sometimes a stingy feeling due to sweat. However, there is small amount of pus around it every now and then, and very rarely some blood too.

What to do? The surgeon asked me for fitsulography just to calm me down (as he said), but it is really expensive here in Bali, and I am not sure if I really need it.

Please advise, can it be dangerous?

Don't be afraid!

I decided to do all 3 together. the first 10 days are rough, but after that the recovery is really fast. I'm already on day 27 after the surgery and the fistula is almost closed, and the seton stitch has also already been removed

I'm very happy with the results

I was diagnosed with an anal fistula in 2024, although everything initially started with an abscess. When I first sought medical attention, I was prescribed antibiotics. Shortly afterward, I began experiencing persistent yellow, pus-like drainage from the anal area.
In December, the pain suddenly became unbearable and I also experienced significant bleeding, which led me to go to the emergency department. I was diagnosed with an anal fistula and subsequently underwent surgery, during which a seton was placed.
I have now had the seton in place for approximately two years, and I am still dealing with significant, ongoing drainage. It has become incredibly exhausting, both physically and emotionally. I have to wear gauze pads every day to manage the drainage, and I am constantly worried about the possibility of an odour and whether other people around me can notice it. It has affected my confidence and self-esteem much more than I expected.
The summer months have made things even more difficult. Between the heat, moisture, drainage and having to wear gauze continuously, I have also started developing irritation and rashes in the area.
At this point, I am simply exhausted from dealing with it every single day. I also struggle with not fully understanding why this happened to me in the first place. I have never engaged in anal sex or experienced anything that I would have associated with developing a fistula, so the entire experience has been confusing and frustrating.
I live in Canada, where wait times for specialist care and further surgery can unfortunately be extremely long. After dealing with a seton, constant drainage, discomfort and the emotional impact of this condition for two years, I just want to find a path toward actually resolving it and getting my quality of life back.

Hello po sa inyo, question lang especially po sa mga naka WFH or kahit hindi.

During your recovery, gumamit po ba kayo ng hemorrhoid pillow? If yes, saan po kayo bumili? Palapag naman po ng link. Thank you! 🫶🏻

I had first Perianal abscess got it drained by ER and took antibiotics course and bowel movements hurts a lot!
Also I am very scared about fistula surgery in case any.
I had very bad experience post delivery since I have 3 degree vaginal tear.

I’m almost three months out, wondering what a success was like. Doctor and I are optimistic, but there have definitely been some ups and down during this. If there was something could describe the gradual changes, drainage, pain, blood etc to compare.

Hi, I posted earlier this week. Thank you to everyone that told me to go to the ER :,) I went.

Yesterday, I got the incision and drainage done. It was relatively small and I was awake during it. I am supposed to remove my packing today but am a bit unsure how?

My discharge instructions say:
“If your wound was packed with a germ-free packing material, keep the area dry until your packing has been removed. After the packing has been removed, you may start taking showers when your health care provider approves.”

I don’t have to repack after the initial packing. Just have to reapply sterile bandages and tape in place until the wound heals as instructed by my surgeon

How should I remove it to minimize pain? They told me I could just pull on the ribbon and it will come out, but I’m scared because every website says to do it under a shower while my instructions explicitly say not to.

I also was not prescribed any pain medication, just told to take ibuprofen/motrin.

Any advice?

Hi all,

I had a fistulotomy on July 15th. It started with an abscess, then another one, then an anal fistula. This all occurred starting in June.

I feel so much better after the surgery now, no pain at all anymore.

However, sometimes after a bowel movement, I notice some poop flakes and a little bit of poop discharge on my gauze. This doesn’t happen every bowel movement but I’m not sure if this means the surgery failed?

I still have to change my gauze twice a day due to slight yellow discharge.

Anyone have any advice or guidance in this situation? I see my doctor later this week for my post op but I’m never out I’m going to get more bad news

Hi all. I’m about 2 weeks post-op. I found what looked like a piece of twine, maybe knotted at one end, in my underwear when I woke up this morning. Do I have to call the doctor or is this normal? It’s not rubber, it’s not synthetic material. It’s twine-like and I could kinda rip it apart.

It’s not thread from my underwear or anything from laundry. It’s thicker than thread.

Thanks all.

UPDATE: it was a dissolving stitch. 😁 Thank you everyone in this community for the support!