possible fistula?

All the posts about the horrors of fistulas have me worried.I had surgery in January for what turned out to be a "hemorrhagic cyst"  I had been told for several years it was probably a lipoma (lower right groin) and to leave it alone. I watched it grow to the size of a walnut. The last doctor told me not to assume that it was that and have a surgeon look at it. That scared me so I took his advice. The surgeon thought it was a hernia and was definitely not a lipoma. (it was squishy) So I had a hernia repair scheduled and when they went to do it, found out it was this "cyst" filled with bloody fluid.   He said he could see no connection to the inside but then added that it can be very very small. I think he sutured behind it just in case.  I asked if it could be a fistula and he said he didn't think so (I didn't have a diagnosis of IBD  at that point but he knew my story)

Ok, had the surgery and the 1 1/2 inch incision healed fine.  I noticed it was a little tender the other day so I investigated and noticed the very end of it had broken open and it was oozing a little blood.  It is starting to heal again but looks kind of purplish, like a pimple that has popped and is healing, with a small depression on the surface.  

 Does it sound like anything anyone has had?  I noticed someone posted about their "enterocutaneous" fistula, which is what this would be, and they said sometimes it did not have feces draining from it, just fluid. 

I am wondering what is going on and will bring it up when I see the gi in December (unless it gets worse soon).  Has anyone heard of a surgical incision that healed perfectly and then reopened? This is just a very small area at the end of the incision. I don't have a gaping wound.    

My fistula that exits by my anus doesn't drain feces.... I guess I would have it looked at just in case.

I am the one with the enterocutaneous fistula. Mine drains pus and/or feces. Mine is right along my midline incision from my CD surgeries. Literally right on the scar. Keep an eye our for pus and feces If really concerned I would call your GI and inform them about this and explain the type of drainage you are getting. My fistula made it very tender, it swelled up and part of the skin did turn purplish before I was able to open the area to allow it to drain. It didnt drain feces immediately and it doesnt everyday but there is always pus which in my case is yellow very rarely gereenish.

Good advice, Keah!

I would see your doctor before Dec. too. I've not had a fistula yet, however, after my resection my incision was all closed and healing fine and about the 4th week I had oozing at the lowest point just above my pelvic bone. According to the surgeon this area was about where he had done an internal stitch and it had become infected, festered and broke open oozing. He went in and manually scrubbed it out with a local but it still took quite some time to heal. Also, I now have a hernia over that area which gee whiz no one told me about until last month when I asked the GI if the difference in the surface area of my skin was from internal scar tissue! My area on the incision was never purple though, that's why I believe in your case, I would get it checked out. Good LucK!

fistulas can be very small and not seen on a scope....keep an eye on anything you suspect is a fistula...

Hi again:

I'm keeping my eye on it. It seems to be healing over which is kind of strange if it was a fistula, to heal so soon. But I also have no idea what would have caused it to open when it was healed completely. I have an appt with my primary NP on 11/1 which is just a little over a week away.  I will watch it till then and then ask her. 

I hadn't actually counted the months, I guess it has been 10 :<( I did think it kind of odd that it opened up after being healed completely. It looks fine now although you can see a small scab. You might be right about perhaps the whole thing wasn't excised completely. I could tell from the surgeon's description that they were perplexed by it. They did analyze the fluid. He said they really didn't like the idea that it was bloody. Another odd thing was how it just grew for years. You would think that a fistula would open before that- this thing just kept growing slowly.