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Suggest Treatment For Sentinel Piles And Tight Sphincter

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Posted on Sat, 14 Mar 2015
Question: Hi I was pulling on some anal skin tags and now the area feels very loose. My sphincter muscles feel alot more loose. I did not touch anything inside just the anal skin tags on the outside, could I have done some damage?
doctor
Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (55 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
You could not have caused any damage.

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thanks for your query and an elucidate history.

Read and understood the history.
To Recapitulate: Female / 30 - know fissure-in-ano with skin tags (Sentinel piles) and tight sphincter - last week pulled the tags and muscles start feeling loose - skin around the anus feels loose - not touched anything inside - wants to know whether done some damage...

Let me assure you in the first place that there is no possibility of doing any damage just by pulling on the skin tags. So first of all come out of the guilt if you have.

The skin tags are also called sentinel piles, meaning small skin tags which grow in response to the fissure underneath, but in the process keep small area where the fecal matter can reside and can cause mild infection. This is what might have occurred when you pulled on the tag and a mild infection of just inflammation has given the appearance of loose skin around the anus.

It is difficult to say and ask how come that you are feeling that the sphincter has become loose. If the muscles has really been feeling loose, this is good that fissures can heal faster.

I would suggest you the following:
Continue Sitz bath (sitting in a tub with warm water and cleaning the area with wet cotton after passing motion.
Laxatives if you are taking and if you need (if Constipation).

I hope this answer helps you, please feel free to ask for further any relevant question or if you feel that there is a gap-of-communication.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. T Chandrakant (22 minutes later)
Thanks for your prompt response. The reason i feel the sphincter muscle has become loose is because i was prescribed rectigesic by my colorectal surgeon and have been using it for months and up until last week when i was pulling the anal tags i have to squat in order to put the cream in as the muscles were so tense and have had to take laxatives everyday just to get my bowels moving but since pulling on the external tags the internal and external sphincter muscles feel loose not tense and tight anymore. It just feels like i have done some sort of damage. Could you advise exactly where the external sphincter muscle is located and can you damage it easily. Im aware internal sphincter muscle is inside anus but i did not do anything to damage the inside. Also im booked in for an internal sphincterotomy as i have been suffering in pain for months but if i go through with the operation now that my muscles are loose i may be left incontinent.
doctor
Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
There may not be any incontinence

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your feedback.

Read the follow-up and understood the situation you are in after the pulling on skin tags.
It appears that this was just coincidental that the muscles relaxed after pulling the tags.
No, you can not do any damage at all by this activity, be assured.

The external sphincter is just outside the internal sphincter and please take the reference of the internet on the following link to get the exact knowledge you may like to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_anal_sphincter; please go through and let me know if you need further simplification. If you read it, you will understand that it is almost impossible to cause any trauma unless actually cut.

So please do not worry.

You can not become incontinent unless the internal sphincter has been transected through. This never happens an any of the surgery of this area except when one is being operated for high anal fistula where the Surgeon may cut both the sphincters in a hope to cure the fistula. But this again is rarest and you do not have fistula.

So just stop worrying.
Go for internal sphicterotomy.
Loose muscles alone never cause incontinence.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. T Chandrakant (13 hours later)
Thanks for the above. I just have some questions in regards to the skin tags. My surgeon plans to remove them as they are causing hygiene issues. Is the recovery from skin tag removal very painful? My surgeon didnt mention it was painful but from what i have read its extremely painful and takes months to heal. Is it more painful than having a fissure or even a hemorroidectomy? And how much time would i need off work ?
doctor
Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (4 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Take proper care- discuss about the size of the wound after removal of tags

Detailed Answer:
Skin Tags:
Skin tags are extension that occur in reaction to the fissure hence they are at the most painful area of the anal verge. Hence there removal may be very painful in some cases. This will again depend upon the the area of base (ulcer crater), exposed after removal of the skin-tag. If this is small the pain may be for a few days. If large and post-operative care is not taken well, the pan may be severe and last longer.
You may please discuss this with your operating Surgeon.

Take proper post-op care:
Sitz bath before passing and after passing motion (BM).
Proper care of the wound, Keep the area dry, ventilated, apply liquid Povidone Iodine locally to clean the area and keep it sterile helps a lot.
Take the prescribed medicines as per schedule and proper dosage of the painkillers to suit your requirement.
Laxative in a proper dosage.
Medicines for nice sleep and to ward-off anxiety.
Proper training of the anal sphincters to loosen them at BM too helps a lot.

The more anxious you are, the more they will go into spasm, the more will be difficulty , the more will be pain and delayed healing.
Proper care and you may have painless, meaning comfortable recovery.

Practically many of the patients can join duties after few days, but in some patients it may take up to 3 weeks; all this depending upon the uncomplicated procedure, your proper care, medicines.

I hope with all these points you will have a nice recovery.

I hope this helps you.
Please feel free to have further queries if you need to.
You may please rate this answer before closing anytime and use the bellow link to ask any other questions in future if you need to or if you want to give feedback.
http://bit.ly/askdrtchandrakant

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. T Chandrakant (23 hours later)
Thanks. Have one last question, could anal skin tags at the opening of the anus cause the anus to feel loose. These skin tags pop in and out of my anus depending on my bowel movements( they are definately skin tags as disgnosed by colorectal surgeon Before pulling these anal tags they were much firmer but since they have loosened up the anal opening also feels loose. If the tags were to be surgically removed does the wound get stitched up or is it left open to heal up.)
doctor
Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
As explained.

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
No, The skin tags at the opening of the anus can not cause the anus to feel loose. There is no such anatomical or physiological co-relation between the two. It is possible that reduced infection can make you feel free.

I can understand that these are skin tags as they are diagnosed by the Colo-rectal Surgeon.

It also looks that due to your pulling, the edema must have got released, for you to feel them to be loose and also feel that the anal opening is also loose.

As the wound is at the anal verge, stitching such wounds can cause the pus to collect as the would is soiled by the fecal matter and the things can get worsened up. This is the major reason we do not like to stitch such wounds. They heal better by keeping them open. This has been tried for ages and failed or cause more pain and / or infection.

If a proper care is taken, these wounds heal very fast.
Please feel free ask for more if you need to.
You may please rate this answer before closing and
you can contact me further on this link in future:
http://bit.ly/askdrtchandrakant
Note: For further inquiries on surgery procedure and its risks or complications book an appointment now

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. T Chandrakant

General Surgeon

Practicing since :1984

Answered : 19779 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Sentinel Piles And Tight Sphincter

Brief Answer: You could not have caused any damage. Detailed Answer: Hi. Thanks for your query and an elucidate history. Read and understood the history. To Recapitulate: Female / 30 - know fissure-in-ano with skin tags (Sentinel piles) and tight sphincter - last week pulled the tags and muscles start feeling loose - skin around the anus feels loose - not touched anything inside - wants to know whether done some damage... Let me assure you in the first place that there is no possibility of doing any damage just by pulling on the skin tags. So first of all come out of the guilt if you have. The skin tags are also called sentinel piles, meaning small skin tags which grow in response to the fissure underneath, but in the process keep small area where the fecal matter can reside and can cause mild infection. This is what might have occurred when you pulled on the tag and a mild infection of just inflammation has given the appearance of loose skin around the anus. It is difficult to say and ask how come that you are feeling that the sphincter has become loose. If the muscles has really been feeling loose, this is good that fissures can heal faster. I would suggest you the following: Continue Sitz bath (sitting in a tub with warm water and cleaning the area with wet cotton after passing motion. Laxatives if you are taking and if you need (if Constipation). I hope this answer helps you, please feel free to ask for further any relevant question or if you feel that there is a gap-of-communication.