Anal fistula: causes, symptoms, and treatment

An abnormal connection between the anal canal and the skin is called an anal fistula. A small hole in the skin leaks pus or blood.

Anal fistula is a disease that makes the body hurt. In this way, a connection is made between the inside of the anus and the skin’s surface. A fistula channel connects the openings in the skin and rectum. This channel can go through or around the anal sphincters.

Causes of anal fistula

The majority of the time, inflammation of the rectum wall glands is what causes an anal fistula. The infection spreads to the skin and other tissues nearby. Often, an abscess will form. It either breaks on its own or the surgeon cuts it open and cleans it. It is thought that up to 30% of people who have an abscess that is properly treated will get an anal fistula.

After an abscess breaks open on its own, there may be a hole in the skin where pus with blood or feces mixed with pus can come out. This opening can be close to the anus or a little farther away, on the scrotum or labia. It is linked to the lumen of the rectum by a fistula canal.

Among the causes of anal fistula are:

  • anal abscess ,
  • tuberculosis ,
  • Crohn’s disease ,
  • colorectal cancers ,
  • diverticulitis,
  • injuries around the anus,
  • perineal radiotherapy ,
  • foreign body
  • complications after gynecological and proctological operations.

Anal fistula symptoms

Most of the time, an abscess is the first sign of this sickness. It can give you a fever, chills, and sharp pain in one spot. The place where a fistula forms is often painful, and sometimes it feels like it’s on fire. Pus, blood, or poop could come out of the fistula. Patients with a fistula may also say that they have trouble passing gas and stools.

Treatment of an anal fistula

The condition is treated with surgery from the waist down while the patient is asleep. The depth and length of the fistula canal will determine what the doctor does during the procedure. It could be a full removal or a cut that is left to heal. If the fistula is in the muscles that help you go to the bathroom, an incision is made and a rubber band is put inside it.

 The tape stays in the body until the fistula is fully healed, which could take weeks. The newest way to treat an anal fistula is to inject it with special medicines that are meant to close up the whole fistula. The patient has a lot to do with how well the treatment works. The area that was operated on should be kept clean. The disease can come back, which is bad.

Author: DoctorMaryam.org

4th Professional Medical Student. Karachi Medical and Dental College.

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