Perianal abscess

Hi all,

I am new to this forum, have found a lot of the post very helpful!

I had a deep 3 inch perianal abscess drained under GA about 4 weeks ago. Gosh it was horrible....anyway, ive been healing up well - was my first abscess - and I was on a course of flagyl post op.

Colorectal surgeon asked me if i had crohn's diseas and i dont...that i know of. Have never been tested but have also never exhibited any symptoms.

So now approx. 4 weeks post op my wound has healed however it has started to get a lump at the top end of where the abscess was - not actually on the hole/incision they made but a bit upwards. It is not painful at all but is a lump about the size of a small coin.

Does this mean the abscess is returning?? I am so worried about it! Or is it simply hardending/scaring?? Opinions would be great!

Oh, boy. There's almost nothing less fun than a perianal abscess--and the draining and healing process. Ugh! I've had one of those, and only one, and the colorectal surgeon insisted that it wasn't a result of my Crohn's (which I have, but have never had in that area) and that he's had lots of patients without Crohn's who've shown up with a perianal abscess. When he inspected the area a couple of weeks after surgery, he told me that I now had a fistula and would require outpatient surgery (under general anaesthesia) to close it up. That was also no fun--but since then (early 2004), I've never had another abscess or fistula.

So Aces High's advice is perfect. Go back to the doctor (and believe me, I know you don't want to!) and have him take a look at the lump and figure out what the problem is. It may be nothing--but it may also be something, and something correctable. In the meantime, take plenty of warm baths to soothe the area, while you're waiting to see the doctor. And try not to get too stressed out, since there isn't much else you can do at this point. It is what it is.

Thanks so much everyone for your responses! Have been most helpful!

I have been in a state of stress/panic the past 12 hrs but I know there's nothing I can do about it right now as such. I have an appointment booked in with my colorectal surgeon this Friday (about 1 week away) but Im going to try and see if I can get in earlier. For my own sanity / de-stressing purposes.

This forum is amazing, I have told a few close friends about what has happened to me and the looks on their faces are pricesless, their jaws drop because I've never heard of anything like this before and neither have they!

I have had 'butt' issues my whole life...I've suffered from constipation since I was a child and started getting anal fissures around 2 yrs ago. My surgeon and I believe the anal fissure is what likely caused the abscess.

I dont really know anything about Crohn's so this is something I will discuss with my GP/ Surgeon, too. It may be a good idea for me to get tested for it just to cover all bases.

Would I know if I had a fistula? I have read about them but still wouldnt be able to tell if I had one.

My abscess healed up brilliantly. It was oozing puss, green and yellow stuff yuuucckkk for about 10 days and I was having sitz baths 3 times a day for a week. But the incision has now healed up and there is no oozing and no pain, just a scar and now a lump about 2cm from the incision site.

Thanks Aces High for your response. I haven't had continual drainage and nothing is that different to before, well not that im aware of.

Im hoping I dont have a fistula, it sounds horrible I really feel for you having had to go thru/live with that! Also hoping that I dont have another abscess forming - it is in the exact same spot where I had the abscess drained eeek!!

It just feels weird and Im going with my gut feeling. I really do hope it is just a lump of some sort that is either a) nothing to worry about or b) can be fixed with antibiotics. The past few days I have had tingly, itchy feeling down there so here's hoping it's NOT an abscess.

Going to try and get in with my surgeon early this week or on Friday at the latest!

Has anyone else had an abscess come up in the same place after it has been drained? Is that a common thing, or no?

I was diagnosed with crohns last December, at age 74!
In j
Feb, started an abcess,turned into multiple abcess/fistulae. Surgery on fistulae and setons inserted. LOTS of perrianal pain. Yesterday first remicade infusion. Has remi worked for any of you?
Oh, and I have an ileostomy.

Just an update...still havent seen my surgeon yet. It's Wednesday and Im seeing him on Friday morning. However, there has been some changes....that thing that was developing where my first abscess was...MUST have been another abscess because, much to my horror, it popped on it's own yesterday - YUCK!

I was at work and about to get changed for the gym and noticed a tingly, wet sort of feeling and low and behold, pus galore...Ewwww!

So now the pressure is relieved and I have no pain, but it burst an opening on the scar where the surgeon made the incision, which had healed over. So now I have a tiny hole there that is pretty much just oozing a teeny tiny bit of pus and some bright red blood - not even a teaspoon full worth of it today.

I had another prescription left over from my flagyl so I have filled that and am taking flagyl for now, at least see what my surgeon says on Friday about that......

Does this mean I now have a fistula??? Or is it just a recurring abscess???

I know I'll get answers on Friday from surgeon but daaaaamn, what a rollercoaster ride?!?! Crazy!!!

Can someone tell me what a seton is?
I had a perianal abscess drained almost 3 years ago, the abscess was as big as the surgeons fist. It is still not completely healed as I have a small area at the end of the incision(which is now a scar) that will not heal. It will fill up like a small ball and then relieve itself every 2 weeks or so. The last time it was about a month and I thought, it finally healed but it didn't. My surgeon has been wanting me to consider surgery but I'm scared to make the situation worse. He also told me if it doesn't heal, there is a greater chance of cancer.
Any advice?

Hi all,

Until 2 months ago, I didn't even know what a perianal abscess was and there were people suffering from this infection. But then 2 months ago, I had a severe case of food poisoning which led to diarrhea which then led to a perianal abscess after 2 weeks. It started on a tuesday and by saturday night, I was in much pain. Finally decided to go to ER on saturday itself and got operated upon during the wee hours of sunday morning. I was under general anesthesia but when I woke up, I didn't feel any pain. However, the next 2-3 weeks were quite tough.

I got hospitalization leave from work for 2 weeks and I visited my GP who cleaned my open wound, put a bandage inside and then covered it with tape. This went on everyday for 14 days. First few times were really painful but I am glad I held on. Going to the bathroom was quite uncomfortable and I was getting sick and tired of seeing pus on the bandages. Some mornings were really bad pyschologically but I just kept telling myself that atleast I am recovering physically with each passing day. After 2 weeks, I went back to work and it was tough sitting on a chair for so many hours but I hung in there. However, I continued going to my GP every other day as pyschologically if he put a fresh bandage on the wound, I felt I was healing. After the 3rd week, I'd rush home from work and would put some medicinal alcohol on a bandage and clean that area because I felt sticky around my wound. It would burn but mentally I thought that I was healing somehow.

It has been over 6 weeks now and just this week I am starting to feel that the wound has almost closed. It went from a 1-2 inch hole to filling up to very thin layer of skin to almost a boil (which was leaking pus) to a boil with not leaking pus to now just a tiny bump (still there).

The reason I'd like to share my story here is because while I was going through this ordeal, I read a lot of posts on the internet. Some from this website and some from other websites. Some posts were helpful but some were really scary. I know my case wasn't the worst case but it did take an emotional toll on me and that's what I'd like to share with other people/sufferers: Don't get too scared with your abscess surgery. However slow, however painful, you will recover. Have faith in medicine, have faith in your doctors/nurses, have faith in yourself and have faith in your body. Eat well (I was suggested boiled egg whites by my Dr. which I ate like a medicine). I also ate a lot of apples, oranges and green leafy veggies and drank lots of water to have regular motion in the mornings.  Take plenty of rest and let the body heal itself. You are not alone in this and all of us have gone through this and with time, you will also heal.

 have a colleague who just had an abscess develop on his right eye. It looked bad for 2 days but when I saw him after this weekend, he was already recovering...so body does have a way to combat all these diseases so just have faith and hope, it will keep you happy and aid faster healing (I also watched a lot of movies...e.g. Groundhog day, Rio, Tin Tin etc.) to keep my mind occupied and away from the disease !!!

I wish everyone good luck and hope you recover soon !! 

Hi all,

I am 3 weeks post op from having a Perianal abscess drainage and believe I am healing quite well only worried as I have started to bleed from the wound again and am not sure if is something to be concerned about any help or advice would be much appreciated.