Wow...two weeks!?! I can't imagine that...I think my doctor said it would be a week or so for recovery after the plug, so I'll definitely check in with him again. I live in the city by myself and can't imagine having to stay at home and not work that long. But, it would be worse for it to fail because I'd decided to go skydiving or something. It wasn't until I'd seen about five doctors before they got my diagnosis right as well. The doctor who finally called it wanted to open up the tract to it could heal from the inside out....my tract is long (about 3 inches away from the anus), so that put me into a panic...that's when I found my new doctor and read up on the plug! Not sure what it's like in the UK, but you sometimes just have to push doctors here and take care of your own medical situation. Kind of scary!

Hi Julia and Suzy - I hope you made the concert - I went to see Bon Jovi 13 years ago - it was great. Twice over the past year or more! I've thought I may not make concerts due to silly health things and I have and they've really perked me up. Sometimes fistulas can take over your life and you need to make time for something that will make and keep you smiling - even if your arse hurts! If you want info on the plug there is a site which is great that I also post on - if you google 'fistula friends meet here' and look for a result with ibsgroup in the address and you should find it. I think they're on p.137 now. There's lots of info on the plug around p.112. I had the plug back at the end of Feb - unsuccessful unfortunately but at least an MRI since has shown my tract actually goes up into the pelvic floor so closing the tract to the outside with the plug left nowhere for drainage from that to go and after 4 weeks there was a build up and it failed. It did work well initially though. There is advice on the other site about prep and post op stuff. I and some others do absolutely nothing for a month or more. Others can't and have to get back to work so you do what you can and be careful if you have to do things.

Whichever of you said your mother would be proud of you waiting with potential partners - too true! Fistulas are a definite form of contraception! I still struggle to tell people I know - I even am selective over which close friends to tell. I think you either need to find someone special or just someone bloody desperate! I'd rather go for the special one ... I'm busy filling the desperate space!!

Take care RCF

Thanks RCF...I'll check out that other site. I'm lucky that my close friends are pretty irreverent about most things in life, so telling them about my seton was actually one of the funnier moments in the whole experience...that and seeing my awesome doctor get up on the operating room table to show me what position I'd need to be in for the seton placement. As they say in the American Express commercials..."Priceless."

I made the concert!! It was fantastic and the best thing was I was pain free all weekend!!! I have just rcvd a letter today from the hospital I have to go back again for a consultation on the 7th then no doubt I will have to have the glue a few weeks after that so that is good!!

Excellent news! Jon Bon Jovi could perhaps be a new form of pain relief??!

Hey! I'm so glad that you made the concert and were pain free the entire weekend. I think that I must be very lucky, because I've had almost no pain since about a week after seton placement. I've been back to yoga three or more times a week and have had very little interruption in my life so far...hopefully the plug will go as well...have a follow up with my Dr. next Friday and will, hopefully, cover all issues for the next phase.

Thank you so much I am glad you are pain free also!! I am back to work tomorrow

Hi All,

Just had my first follow-up following seton placement and all is looking good for AFP (with endorectal advancement flap) surgery on August 28. My doctor mentioned a new technique, with the acronym L.I.F.T. (which stands for ligation of the inter-sphincteric fistula tract), that was started in Thailand and is now being used by a group of doctors in Minnesota (USA). He has never performed this procedure himself, but mentioned a success rate of 80%. Since this new procedure involves cutting and is not widely practiced in the US at this time, I'm going ahead with the AFP placement. If the AFP fails, I may, however consider the L.I.F.T. and urge those with fistulas to talk about this option with their surgeons. Since this is so new and the success rates reported in studies are dependent on so many variables, I think quite a bit of reseach is advisable before trying a new technique...that being said, someone has to be the first, right?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Julia1020,

Hi guys
I am new to this community and new to the world of fistulas too . Although I was suffering from some discomfort for last 1 year it was diagnosed as anal fistula only 2 months back (Before that I didn't have the slightest idea what fistula is). Now I had a few questions that I hoped you people can answer for me
1. My fistula doesn't seem to be too severe. I rarely have much discomfort or bleeding (Once in a month or so). My question is what happens if I don't do anything? Will it deteriorate? My only concern is that it should not become worse after I go through a surgery or so
2. Second question is how effective in the anal fistula plug? Is it better than the other procedures

Will really appreciate if you guys can throw some light on it. Initially I thought of fistula as a very trivial problem, but the more I research on it the more scarier it becomes.

Thanks

Joon

Hi Joon,

We seem to have a somewhat similar situation with regard to our fistulas. I never experienced too much pain with mine (seemed to get worse once a month, which may have been tied to my cycle) and didn't do anything for a couple of months. The reason that I suggest taking care of the fistula is to make sure that it does not branch off in another direction (horseshoe fistula) and become worse. Mine did become a horseshoe, but I was lucky in that one side of the horseshoe spontaneously healed on its own (very rare). The side that did not heal was mistakenly opened by a surgeon who was not familiar with fistulas, and I ended up with constant (albeit very light) drainage. When I finally went to a colorectal surgeon, he suggested a drainage seton followed by the anal fistual plug. I've had the seton in for a couple of months and will have the AFP surgery on August 28. I think the success of the AFP surgery depends on (1) skill of surgeon, (2) length of fistual tract and (3) patient compliance with post-surgical procedures. From what I've read, the success rate is about 60%. If the plug fails, however, you're really no worse off. You can just have the drainage seton put back in and wait to try the AFP again. The other options, which involve much more substantial cutting (fistulotomy and fistulectomy), scare me to death, so I'm taking my chances with the plug. There is a new procedure out of Asia that shows promising results, but I don't want to be an early test case (see my post above regarding the L.I.F.T. procedure). Hope this helps.

Thanks Julia
That really helped. I guess I should not delay it any longer and consult my doctor immediately. best of luck for your surgery. Do keep us posted on the outcome

Hello All - I am so happy to stumble on this group. I do not have a j-pouch, or any prior GI issues. I have a rectovaginal fistula from a severe obgyn injury, and had the plug surgery June 20th. I have had some drainage, never saw the plug or the button from the surgery come out, although my surgeon said the button was gone at the 6 week followup. I am still passing air, though a little less than before surgery. I was very glued to my couch for two weeks after surgery, and I have not done anything strenuous yet, just walking lightly. I am very concerned that the passing air means the plug has failed -I would love to hear if anyone healed after feeling air pass, or what the journey was like. Best to everyone, appreciate your sharing.

Ann,

Can you tell me if your being glued to the couch for two weeks was just to stay compliant with your post-op directions or whether it was due to pain/discomfort. My doctor has mentioned the two-week recovery period, but I'm not sure if that means I'll actually be at home (and not able to go to work) for this entire period.

Julia I was glued because I was being compliant. I must say, it was uncomfortable, but not painful. Other posts on the plug echo the same directions. You won't want to go to work, it is that uncomfortable, plus you need to be on stool softeners, etc. It is a general anaesthetic surgery, which also wipes you out a bit. Minimum, you're on the couch a week, I would only consider working after that if you have an absolute sit-down job and the bathroom is 8 steps away. My doc said the biggest problem is dislodgement, from movement, so minimal movement it has been. I hope someone can comment on my question about still passing some air. Hope that is helpful.

Julia - FYI - to clarify, I was told home two weeks, no activity/sex/tampons for 6 weeks, and that 6 weeks has been extended to 8, and may yet be extended to 12.