Experience with lateral internal sphincterotomy

[Alex Bridges]

I’m having this procedure in a month to treate a fissure I’ve had for over a year.

Any advice or helpful info from anyone who had had the procedure will be most welcome,

unless you want to talk me out of it. This was a hard decision, so please don’t make it harder.

thanks

[babykeiff]

A fissure is a tear / medical name for a cut. A Lateral internal sphincterotomy is the procedure where the anal sphincter muscle is cut to reduce the resting pressure on same - i.e. it makes anal sphincter weaker. This can assist in the healing of severe anal fissures by reducing the tension across the skin at the site of the tear(s), but usually it is not an elective procedure.

The healing time is complicated by the fact that there is now two 'cuts' to heal instead of one. Secondly, there is a high chance of infection. For patients with anal fissures, the first thing that is done is diet is changed - to increase the water content in stool and to increase the voiding frequency. This stops fissures occuring and allows for natural healing. If the fissures do not heal, under a local, the fissures would be sewn (similar to a cut on the outside of the body)

If your medical team have suggested lateral internal sphincterotomy, have all previous processes to address same failed? In another post, you questioned in relation to a bacterial infection on the perineum. If that is still active, I strongly suggest that you tell your medical team before the surgery.