Looking for advice regarding seton post care. I am new to this site and have a J-pouch from 2004 with current cuffitis and R/O 
chrons.  I had surgery a week ago for a fistula and had a seton placed. Dr. Remzi did the surgery at Cleveland Clinic.  Unsure what to expect with the seton.  I am really sore and having a hard time eating solid foods due to where the seton is placed.  The sitz baths have been helping and pain killers.  Anyone dealing with this or cuffitis? 

This message has been edited. Last edited by: S Brick,

Heya, welcome to the forums!

I had two setons for fistula treatment for 3 months earlier this year (and I'm recovering from a second surgery to open up the remaining fistula).

The setons are annoying as hell, and are sore/painful at first. After two weeks or so the pain went away and you don't really know that they're there. At least, I didn't.

The only issue I had was cleaning the area. Instead of wiping which can tug/pull on the setons, dab the area instead. I was worried about them, but trust me, it gets easier after a week or two. There are people who have had setons in for YEARS without any pain or complication.

Hang in there!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris (Oregon),

I will speak more to my long-term seton experience than to immediate post-surgery care.

I've had a seton for a year now, following surgery for an anal abscess and a fistula. Once the wound healed and antibiotics took care of any remaining infection, it hasn't been a big deal for me. I stick some gauze around the seton - at first I did this in case of leakage, now just to protect my skin from the seton rubbing against it. For cleaning, I have learned to be careful not to tug on the seton. I also sometimes use a spray bottle after BMs and a handheld shower faucet for better cleaning.

At first, when I accidentally tugged on the seton, it hurt like ****! But not since the infection cleared up.

I am stuck with carrying supplies around - extra gauze, squirt bottle, Calmoseptine - but there are worse things in life!

Thanks for the info. Did you mind me asking what type of fistulas you both had? I have a complex fistula (a brancher) so I guess I am more prone to have more. I have to now take humira, 6mp or have surgery-back to an ileostomy as with cuffitis, I am on my last resort for medication therapy. Seton is finally improving. It is just in such a bad area and is sore. I use the wet cloth wipes and dab of course. Sitz baths help and the shower attachments. What is Calmoseptine? And yes, I agree that there could always be worse things.

My fistula is pretty simple - a low anal fistula.

Calmoseptine is a cream to prevent/soothe butt burn and itch. It isn't really related to the seton; it's to help with the j-pouch output. There is usually an ad for it at the top of the j-pouch page. You can get it at some pharmacies and online.

Mine was the result of a large abscess. I don't know the technical term, but I had two main tracts with some smaller "tunnels" as my surgeon described.

One was draining out an opening in the area between the anal opening and my man-parts. The second was draining about 2.5 inches to the right of the anal opening.