Fistulotomy and what to except afterwards

Hey guys, many thanks for being helpful every time I have had any questions on here.

I ended up having to get a fistulotomy recently, and it is my first day so I am still not sure what to avoid. I was told to stick to a high-fiber diet, and what fruits/food would you guys recommend for me to stay on during this time?

The doctor said the procedure went really well and recommended to temporarily go on remicade/humera to completely get rid of the fistula. I am not sure if the "really well" was said so I do not panic after the procedure, or if it actually went well. She placed a band that will drain out the abcess and I was also wondering what is the possible timing that this will stay in? The only medication that I am currently taking is Cipro. I must say, I do not feel any pain at all thankfully. Only thing that is a bit strange is that I do not feel the urge to have a bowel movement, but I do feel things moving about and wind is passed frequently. I haven't had any meals besides crackers on the day of the surgery.

Any other helpful tips would be awesome.

As always, many thanks for all of the help!

1/26/154:47 PM

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Original Post

rachelravenMember

My issues started in 2012. Got a perianal abscess of a gland that turned to a fistula.

My my surgeon will not perform a fistulotomy/ectomy on me, as he says it's dangerous for us in that we already have sphincters that went through a lot, and the cutting could render us incontinent.

I had a seton (the rubber band drain) through the tract for 18ish months. It's out now. I'm on Humira, and finished a steroid taper, and things are holding. My fistula tract was mature after having the seton in for all that time, though. I've been ok for about a month since the last seton untied and broke. I've been on Humira for almost 4 months now. I did 2 steroid tapers. The steroids make things down there amazing, but steroids are such awful meds, as a whole (well, they're great when you need them, but man they wreak havoc on a body).

Too much fiber fiber for me isn't great (sometimes these days have had outlet narrowing). I prefer a looser stool, but even looser, I only go 4-6x a day (my pouch is older, though, and I've never had high output).

Fingers crossed. He told me give things 6 months and we will reassess.

1/26/159:57 PM