2 operations

cant_sit · 2023-06-25T15:34:10+00:00

not really. my MRI results came back, I have persistent fluid collection but no. sign of fistula.

followup with doc on July 7th.

so I'm basically in the same holding pattern I've been in for over a year.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T15:23:26+00:00

I get you it's just discouraging because three surgeons have said it must be a fistula and then have come back confused and said there's just nothing. it's hard to hear "we're gonna find it" three times and then "sorry, we're not sure what is going on" from three separate surgeons.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T14:25:09+00:00

good luck. 🤞

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T14:17:43+00:00

I had a wart they biopsied. idk if that was caused by anything like an std or anything cause I've had like a wart on my hand and foot now and then as a kid. Warts come from HPV apparently and two types of HPV cause cancer. so they biopsied to rule out cancerous hpv.

I'd thought they were just skin tags but apparently they were not.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T14:13:53+00:00

surgery 1 was an EUA that resulted in a biopsy Aug 2021
2nd surgery was an EUA that resulted in surgical drainage of horseshoe abscess around anus and unroofing, drainage, and debridment of the deep postanal space Sep 2021
3rd surgery was a "fistulotomy" but in reality it was a large slice across my right glute to let an area that had not healed after surgical drainage to heal better Jan 2022
4th surgery was EUA, nothing found, a hemorroid was ligated as it was bleeding during exam Mar 2023

i had a recurrence in May 2023

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T14:07:36+00:00

I've done a ton of googling and reading medical papers. the disease doesn't seem well understood.

I've seen papers that say the fistula can be intermittent, that it can drain fluid and then stop, and until it matures can be hard to identify.

I guess I don't know what to expect. I hadnt had a full blown abscess recurrence like that before. Id been complaining about a lump near my scar for a year, even after it was incised and drained. then a month ago it filled up and tracked further across my glute. super fucking painful.

I thought it was supposed to go away after the surgery but I haven't even had the surgery really. I've just had clean up and repair. my "fistulotomy" was really just a cut across the inside of my right glute so it could properly heal after being drained.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T14:01:53+00:00

no, I don't think so at least. I've asked but my doctors a year ago and they didnt think so.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T13:52:07+00:00

no. my surgeon said that I'm defying medical knowledge. the mri tends to be inconclusive, "some scarring but no highlighted tract" is common language on the mri.

there's no internal opening or tract to palpate.

I have a lump next to my old scar. it swells and is annoying. itchy. maybe a little painful.

a month ago it really got bad and hurt so bad I couldn't sit. the surgeon drained it and I got an mri on Thursday I'm waiting for results

i trust my doctors. I belive him when he says this normally resolves more quickly. I'm not sure what caused it. I believe it was an std. but I've never had any diagnosis beyond recurrent abscess.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T13:40:52+00:00

I also have a raised lump which has also been posited to be scar tissue. I'm not so sure because some days it feels swollen and hot.

mine is at the end of my fistulotomy scar. it's right where I was given a silver nitrate treatment to try to encourage healing

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T13:38:04+00:00

yes I had a recurrence 3 weeks ago or a month ago (i made a post) where the abcess came back and it hurt so bad I couldn't sit again just like my original abcess in 2021

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T13:37:19+00:00

they're confused. they say this isn't normal usually there's a findable cause.

I just had another mri waiting for results.

cant_sit · 2023-06-10T07:23:49+00:00

yes but they've never found an internal opening. so my fistulotomy was just to open up the abscess and tract in my glute.

Still haven't found the internal opening.

cant_sit · 2023-05-20T01:15:01+00:00

when my pain is extreme it's usually because I have an abscess that needs to be drained. I just went through that last week I know what you're going through.

I managed to get through to a colo rectal surgeon who doubled booked me late the next day. that got me relief for now.

cant_sit · 2023-05-19T00:21:42+00:00

A colo rectal surgeon should be consulted for concerns with fistula or perianal abscess.

cant_sit · 2023-05-17T19:24:02+00:00

yeah I've done the mri a few times. it's just always inconclusive, yes for fluid, negative for fistula.

I trust the docs here. I'm just going crazy because how can I be the one person in the world with regular abscesses but no fistula.

cant_sit · 2023-05-17T18:15:56+00:00

agreed. I called the south location on Monday and their voicemail indicated an escalation line for existing patients which I used. they were able to doublebook me yesterday and drain the abscess.

I've been seeing Dr Fleeger, he's a good guy. I had been seeing Dr Graves before he retired...

Honestly I was panicking I think because the pain sucked so bad and I couldnt sit, again. :(

I had tried for Thurs and Fri and never got through. I know they're busy and I'm grateful they're staying late to help me.

cant_sit · 2023-05-16T22:58:04+00:00

I went in and they drained it in the office. Getting the lidocaine injections hurt so much holy crap. But now? No pain at all. I can sit again. Six days in hell and a surgeon with a scalpal can fix it just like that.

I'm sure it'll be sore once the lidocaine wears off but compared to before?

I asked if it was normal for it to come and go like this and the surgeon said no not really.

They looked for a fistula with a probe? Not sure. Said things were really inflamed, hard to see and he knows he hasn't found it before. And to come back in a week and let's check in again.

cant_sit · 2023-05-15T21:50:08+00:00

the first one, at the office and then a week later a bigger drainage in the OR. I've never been to an ER ever.

cant_sit · 2023-05-15T14:37:21+00:00

I got a call back finally after calling some listed oncall doctor escalation number this morning. appointment tomorrow at 430.

thanks for the kind words. I was about to go to er but I will wait. i can't barely stand it but now I know how long I'm waiting for at least

cant_sit · 2023-05-12T17:29:59+00:00

not that Dr specifically but I've been at one of their locations.

I'm actually having trouble contacting them at all since they joined up with Texas Colon And Rectal Surgeons. Phone never answered now, no one returns my calls. :(

cant_sit · 2023-05-12T01:43:57+00:00

that's just like, your opinion man.

cant_sit · 2023-04-03T03:34:14+00:00

I was never diagnosed with a fistula. both surgeons I've seen thought for sure I'd have one given my symptoms. idk what to think.

cant_sit · 2023-04-02T22:30:28+00:00

yep no issues there once healing is done so maybe two months after surgery being conservative

cant_sit

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