LIFT Procedure question and backstory

Okay a little back story- my name is Jennifer and I am new here to the forum. I have been reading some threads and whatnot for about two years now and finally decided to make a username. I do not have a history of crohn's disease or IBD or anything else related to abscesses and fistulas. But, on May 2014 I had some straining when going the bathroom. I had some soreness afterwards and have had multiple hemorrhoids so I just wrote it off as that. Well the pain started to get worse. I went to my primary care physician and was told to see a colon and rectal surgeon because what was going on was not hemorrhoids. Saw my first CRS and was very displeased with his services because he had looked in the wrong hold (if you know what I mean). He told me I had a perianal abscess and that it was an infection. He also told me to take warm sitz baths with epsom salts and sent me on my way with antibiotics, told me that if it doesn't result on its own I will need surgery. The abscess drained on its own relieving a ton of pressure and pain from the area. I was so relieved! Then my worst nightmare happened in December 2014... it came back. But this time I saw 3 different doctors for them to refer me to a different CRS. She explained to me that I needed surgery right away for the reoccurring abscess. (This all happened while in college and University of Maryland decided to kick me out due to this. That is a whole other story). All was well until October 2015 when I had my first fistulotomy. Healed just fine and figured I would never have to deal with this again. Fast forward to May 2016 and was back to straining on Mother's day due to the busy day ahead and I didn't want to have a bowel movement while out with my mother. Figured I had another hemorrhoid due to the pain. I was so wrong! I went back to my CRS and was confirmed I had a very deep anal abscess. So it happened again but in a different spot. I was told that this one would me more complex due to the location of the abscess. I had an I&D and a seton put in place to hold that fistula tract open. It was explained to me that in several weeks I would need a second surgery to fix this issue. I would have the LIFT procedure done with another surgeon at a different hospital. Was then sent on my way with Flagyl, Cipro, and pain meds. Very painful healing and I had to cancel out on a nice Dominican Republic vacation I had planned with my boyfriend :frown: I am now 10 days out from the LIFT procedure I had done. They explained to me post procedure that it went well and I should take it easy for 7-10 days. Well I did because I was in a lot of pain. Very sore like someone had beat up my butt muscles. I was instructed to use baby wipes after a bowel movement. Well today, I had a bowel movement and when I went to go wipe, there was black stitches and a piece of weird looking fabric covered in discharge on the baby wipe. I called my CRS's and the one is in surgery and hasn't gotten back to me yet but my original CRS explained that it looks like the graft they had put inside me. She wasn't overly concerned and I already have an appointment with her on Monday so she said she will take a look then.

:sign0085:Was wondering if anyone has had the LIFT/BioLIFT Procedure and if their graft/mesh came out if that means they have to go through this again? I am so tired of going through this. I've been severely depressed because it has put a halt on my life for about a month each time this happened.

Hey welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear what an awful time you have been having.
I have had a lift procedure and a biolift procedire and like yourself the mesh came out too. Its a horrible thing having to suffer with fistula and abscesses, I am awaiting my 20th procedure over 3 years.
Please feel free to ask any questions. X

kelly1 said:

Hey welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear what an awful time you have been having.
I have had a lift procedure and a biolift procedire and like yourself the mesh came out too. Its a horrible thing having to suffer with fistula and abscesses, I am awaiting my 20th procedure over 3 years.
Please feel free to ask any questions. X

Click to expand...

Hi Kelly! Thanks! I'm so sorry to hear about your experience! Crazy to think this stuff happens to us. I'm seeing my CRS tomorrow, what should I expect to hear? Did the mesh coming out mean another surgery to solve that issue? Im curious to hear about your experience. I just want some answers and I have a very difficult CRS

Hey that's ok! All crs do things differently, you will probably need another surgery yrs! What type of fistula do you have? I knew the mesh had come out on mine as I see it with my own eyes the same with the plug surgery I see that come out too but the drs are like are you sure and often made me feel I was going crazy. My problem is eveytime I have a repair surgery it seems to fail and I just keep abscessing again and they realise its failed sp they put a seton back in which o currently have now.
I would write everything down that you want to ask so you dont forget , I always do that. Ask what type of fistula you have, do I need another procedure, also ask if you have problems in between os there a number for you to contact. I call up the hospital and my crs calls back the same day. Have you had any imaging done yet? They may do scans to see whats going on. Let us know how you get on x

Kelly, I had a complex fistula. I'm sorry about all your repair surgeries are failing. I'm started to get really down because of all of this. How do you boost your mood about everything you have to go through?

I have had an upper GI and a colonoscopy plus blood work to rule out Crohn's, IBS, ulcerative colitis, etc. My upper GI and colonoscopy came back clear with no signs of inflammation whatsoever. My blood work was 2 points over the norm in one category which didn't alarm my surgeons. Have you had any imaging done? I'm curious as to why your abscesses happen so frequently? I wanna know what causes these things because everywhere I read and every time I ask my surgeon, no one seems to know!

As far as my appointment went, my CRS said that my mesh probably fell out. I could tell it was some sort of foreign material that I saw. I knew my body didn't produce what I saw on its own. She did a very in depth examination and explained to me that there were two openings for my fistula that the seton went through that they had to ligate. The internal opening (which was deep inside my rectum) did not have any discharge secreting and she checked about 4 times. The superficial opening (which is right near the opening of my anus) had opened up. She had to really push and look to see that it was open though. I don't think it was completely noticeable that it came undone from the sutures. She said that it was probably the mesh based on the fact that it was open. She put me on a lower dose of Flagyl for 4 days and Cipro for 10 days. She also told me to put A&D ointment on a small cotton pad and keep it on the wound to catch the drainage. I asked her if I needed another surgery to correct this and she said that only time will tell but the good thing is that the internal opening has no drainage. So the only thing that could possibly go wrong would be that my body doesn't close that superficial wound leaving it a superficial fistula. I would then have a fistulotomy. But she said that the mesh falling out doesn't necessarily mean that. My body could still heal in and that the hard part is over (ligating the diseased fistula tract).

SO FINGERS CROSSED!