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Surgery for anal fistulas

Surgery for anal fistulas

Anal fistula surgery at our Centre is an easy and effective solution for itchiness, purulent drainage, and discomfort.

Before the most appropriate treatment is recommended for you, an anal examination and rectoscopy will be performed. Sometimes other tests (dye exam, probing with a special instrument, or magnetic resonance imaging) may also be needed.

Treatment: anal fistulas are treated only surgically. The choice of the treatment method depends on the type of condition and the doctor’s training. It is critical to treat the fistula in a way as to avoid damage to the sphincter muscles and retain bowel control, thus the doctor’s training is of utmost importance.

Anal fistulas are treated with the following surgical methods: fistulotomy, ligation, advancement flap, ligation of intersphincteric fistula tract (LIFT) surgery

The latter method is the most advanced, it preserves the function of the sphincter muscles and, as a result, prevents bowel incontinence.

After the surgery: usually the patient can take on physically non-demanding activities, such as driving or working on the computer, as soon as the next day after the surgery. Normal physical activity can be resumed in 2-3 weeks, depending on the type of surgery.

Anal fistulas never heal on their own unless treated, therefore, professional treatment, tailored to the symptoms and the severity of the condition, is necessary.

Anal fistula surgery price

Anal fistula surgery is the only treatment option for this condition. Treatment price includes the coloproctologist’s consultation, the necessary exams prior to the surgery, and the surgery itself.

The consultation takes about 30 minutes.
  • Assessment of the overall health
  • Examination
  • Diagnosis
  • Recommendation of the best treatment

Rectoscopy

Standard price at the Centre with referral

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The examination takes about 30 minutes.
  • Painless
  • Accurate diagnosis

Surgery for a low anal fistula

Under spinal, epidural, or general anaesthesia

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The surgery takes 30-60 minutes. The patient spends 24 hours at the Centre in total.
  • Effectiveness is almost 70-100%
  • Lasting results

What factors affect the price?

The prices indicated below apply to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Union.
If you are coming from another country please check the price by telephoning or sending an email.

More about prices

Tests needed prior to the surgery:

  • a complete blood count
  • blood coagulation test (APTT)
  • blood glucose level test
  • electrocardiogram (EKG) and its evaluation 

The patient can bring their test records from other healthcare institutions, or they may have them done at the Medical Diagnostic and Treatment Centre. The tests take 2 hours. Price of the tests performed at the Centre. The tests must be performed no earlier than 14 days before the surgery.

During LIFT surgery, the internal opening of the fistula is sutured, this way the fistula tract integrity is compromised. The rest of the fistula tract is scraped out or left open and heals on its own. What is most important is that the surgery does not damage the sphincter muscles, therefore, bowel control remains unhindered.

Checklist. How to prepare for blood tests
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4 reasons

why to choose us

  • The surgery can be performed the next day after the initial consultation.
  • The surgery is performed by experienced doctors who regularly update their skills.
  • The patient can go home and take a flight the next day after the surgery.
  • The rate of hospital-acquired infections is 0 in the last 5 years.

Doctors

Assoc. prof., MD  Dulskas Audrius
Assoc. prof., MD Dulskas Audrius

Surgeon, Coloproctologist

  • language LT, RU, EN, DE
  • Working hours
MD  Radziunas Gintautas
MD Radziunas Gintautas

Coloproctologist, Endoscopist, Abdominal surgeon

  • language LT, EN, RU
  • Working hours
Prof. MD  Samalavicius Narimantas Evaldas
Prof. MD Samalavicius Narimantas Evaldas

Abdominal surgeon, Coloproctologist

  • language LT, RU, EN
  • Working hours

Frequently asked questions

Anal fistulas usually result from paraproctitis, purulent inflammation of the tissues of the anus, when an abscess bursts. The condition is found in working 30-60-year-olds, more frequently in men. Inflammatory bowel diseases, especially Crohn’s disease, also stimulate fistula development. In rarer cases, fistulas may form under anorectal cancer, AIDS, chlamydia, syphilis, or tuberculosis, or they may develop as a treatment complication of conditions such as ulcerative colitis, anal or rectal polyp, rectal cancer, etc.

Unfortunately, this disease is prone to recurrence. Fistulas recur in 10-15% of patients, depending on the severity of the case and the surgical method used, however, it is worth treating the disease, because once the fistulas are sealed, the patient’s quality of life is immensely improved—the patient no longer experiences pus discharge, and the bad smell, which often follows the patient as a trail, disappears. The patient can then live a full social life and also have a sex life.

There are no special prophylactic measures or exercises to prevent fistulas from developing. Patients should simply follow good hygiene practices and wear underwear made of natural fabrics. 

If some worrying symptoms—rectal discharge, anal itchiness, bleeding or painful defecation—appear, it is a sign that it is time to contact a coloproctologist. The coloproctologist will see the external fistula opening or openings, as often there are multiple, during the examination of the anal area. If the external opening is tiny or hard to notice, it can be felt by touch. When the doctor presses on the anal area, a purulent discharge comes out of the fistula opening. Moreover, the soft tissues alongside the fistula tract harden. The inner opening of a fistula is found during an endoscopy of the anal canal. If the opening is not found, a dye exam is performed—some dye is injected through the external opening of the fistula, it dyes the whole tract and comes out through the inner opening. The fistula tract can also be examined by probing it with a special instrument, in rare cases magnetic resonance imaging might be needed.

An anal fistula is not a critical condition, it is not life-threatening, but it is inconvenient. Before the LIFT method was available, it was not uncommon that the patient, after having weighed the risk of side effects of the surgery and the inconvenience the condition caused, chose life with the condition. Lithuanian coloproctologists have now added the newest anal fistula treatment method LIFT to their arsenal, therefore, patients can get modern, safe, and adverse effect-free treatment of anal fistulas.

Don’t delay, take care of yourself now