Anal abscess and surgery - Bowel Disorders Message Board

Kato1421 · 07-16-2005, 01:11 PM

My doctor wants to do surgery to remove my anal abscess. I like to avoid go under the knife if at all possible. He told me the only way to completely cure the anal abscess is surgery. The abscess does not give me too much of trouble for now. I have it for about 3 months now, about every couple of weeks, it bursts and some pus leak out and it would heal in couple of days. It between, there is no pain and some itching that I can live with. My question is would the abscess get worse over time if I don't doing anything about it. Is it true it would never get better without the surgery. Can someone share your anal abscess surgery and recovery experience?

izaac · 07-17-2005, 12:01 AM

hey kato,, did you try applying antiseptics to it? if not, try chlorhexidine cream. it worked for me at least.

reiki gal · 07-17-2005, 06:26 AM

IF it is a pylonidal [sp?] cyst, yes, you will probably need the surgery. I had what I thought was abcess/boil for 6 months. Same scenario as you - pus would come out, pain ease up, then got bigger & more pus...etc. I used EVERY method known & some I made up [onion poultice, sea salt, sitz baths, black drawing salve & more] it finally STOPPED giving up any pus at all & cyst got bigger & harder.

Had no insurance at the time so had not been to Dr. When it got to the point I could NOT sit I went to emergency room, laying on my side in back in of car! Dr. used local anesthetic to lance it & relieve some pressure & scheduled me for removal of the core of the cyst. Said it would just keep coming back if core was not removed. The core was quite deep in - NO WAY "home treatment" will get that out!

Good luck & Great health!

kiwi.girl · 07-17-2005, 06:54 PM

You really should have surgery to clean out and drain fully the abcess. I had 6 of these over a 2 year peorid, and a couple actually burst themselves, which is not that great as it can lead to infection, and in my case an anal fistuala, which is something you don't want to get. You can have the surgery under local anesthetic, and usually requires a drain for a week, but it could be alot worse! These abcesses have a habit of recurring, so the way you address your first one could save you from having more.

Good luck!

izaac · 07-18-2005, 02:49 AM

hey Kato,, where exactly is this abscess of yours? Is it inside or outside?