Anal Skin Tag Removal...my experience

Hi all,

I just wanted to share with you my anal skin tag removal prodecure and basically walk you through my procedure and recovery cos there are alot of scary stories here that will make some folks afraid.

Well, I had internal and external hemmorrhoids courtesy of my pregnancys. My internal ones didn't really bother me but when I was 7-8 months pregnant with my son I was severely constipated...unfortunately for me, the extra pregnancy weight & straining caused me to have 2-3 finger sized external hemmorhoids. After pregnancy they shrunk and became skin tags, one large one about the size of my thumb and the other two size of finger.

I came across "Colorectal Health Centre" for chicago location online...and for anyone else who wants the website, here it is....http://www.crhcenter.com....after looking up various other removal procedures (such as laser) and decided to pay them a visit.

The Colorectal health centre accepted my insurance (HMO) otherwise banding would be $600 per visit...first my Dr asked what problem was and I told her. She used a instrument that is like the anal speculum to look inside my anal cavity and saw that I had 3 interior hemorrhoids. I had my banding that first visit. It was painless, a lil uncomfortable but quick. At the end of the banding, all I felt was a lil dull ache from the banding but it subsides after a few hours. My subsequent bandings were scheduled for two week intervals so I came back a fortnight later for my second banding then the third.

The 4th visit was my surgical procedure to remove my anal tags. This is what happened to me and what you can expect. My Dr had me kneel down infront of the bed that you sit on, then lie forward. The bed then lifts up and tilts you in a jack knife position so you're face down and butt is literally in the air. Next comes the anaesthesia and is the most painful part. The needle hurts very much going in and I was injected 3 times because I had anal tags at 3 sites around the anal area. The anaesthesia kicks in pretty immediately and the Dr started cutting off the tags. This whole process last no more than 5-10 minutes most.You don't feel anything, just tugging. Expect lots of bleeding and Dr used silver nitrate to cauterize the surgery site. There are no stitches.

After surgery....

The first day after procedure was told to stay off my feet and just relax. My recovery orders were to take 2 colace tablets daily to soften stools and take fibre supplement daily. 6-8 Glasses of water a must to keep hydrated not to strain when having bowel movement. Also take sitz baths to help healing process.

2nd day after procedure...

I didn't have any pain...just slight throbbing at surgery site and could feel the bleeding. Had BM without any pain, just felt some stretching and discomfort. Felt a hard lump at surgery site and was told by my nurse that the lump was caused by the amount of anaesthesia that they used on me. Assured me that it will go down and heal. So although lump was uncomfortble it wasn't unbearable.

3-6 days after procedure...

Lump at surgery site has gone down, slowly but surely. I have been taking sitz baths to help promote the healing process and taking my daily colace and fibre. My bleeding has been minimal.

1-2 weeks after procedure...

My hard lump has completely gone but I have slight sun flower sized slick of skin around the anal rim. Bleeding is almost gone but have developed rash between anal area because of discharge from the surgery site. Treated with desitin. Went away in 2-3 days.

Follow up visit with Dr...week 3

Dr was pretty pleased with my results. He said I said very slight scar tissue (the small sunflower seed sized skin) and using Vit E oil to soften it up and help minimize it. (my skin generally heals with the occasional keloid if the cut is deep). So all in all, I healed pretty well.

I would recommend that colorectal health centre for anyone's who considering removing hemorrhoids or anal tags. They really take great care of you and recovery time for anal tags after faster than traditional hemorrhoid surgery.

I'll do an update in a few months time in regards to the scar tissue I had.

[NoahsArk220]

this was very helpful. I am considering this as well. I am interested in hearing a follow up.

Thanks

[Mummymico]

Just wanted to give a brief update on scar tissue, with the daily Vit E oil application, the scar tissue softened up and now my anal area is soft and smooth with no excess skin. I'm glad I had the procedure done because it really did take away the inconvience and consciousness. Don't hesistate with CRC, they are really professional and do take care of you.

[Leo0000]

I just had a skin tag removal done yesterday after 10-12 years of intermittent hemorrhoid issues.  It became too uncomfortable to simply just deal with any longer, particularly after an extremely painful thrombosis.  I have been going to the Center for Colorectal Health and am pleased for the most part.

I read so many horror stories online that I was actually really nervous going in.  Thankfully, I came across Mummymico's post and it really put me at ease.  

So, here is my story and experience with banding and skin tag removal and I will give progress updates over the next 2-3 weeks which is the time in which I expect to be recovered.

I had to have 4 banding procedures done approximately 4 weeks apart.  The banding is a cinch!  Dont even hesitate to get this done if you are having hemorrhoid issues.  Yeah, it may be a little embarrassing at first,  but these Dr.'s have seen it all and this is their profession and basically just another day at the office for them.

After the internal hemorrhoids were all taken care of we scheduled the skin tag removal.  My skin tags would regularly swell up and protrude and hurt and really put a damper on my social life as well as my sex life.  I was really self-conscious and its hard to have a good time when you're in pain and not feeling 100%.  So, I had the procedure yesterday.  I went into the room, undressed from waist down, covered up with the sheet, Dr. came in and had me lay on my side.  He asked me to be his assistant and hold my cheek so he could go to work.  He injected the area with Lidocaine.  This really didnt hurt that bad.  A little sting but he had me count to 10 and it really was over.  Then he went to work cutting and removing whatever.  I did feel a few tugs and a little sting at one point but nothing major.  I was done in 5-10 mins.  No stitches, just cauterized the wound.  He asked if I wanted to see the culprit and I did, so he showed it to me.  Ick.  Not pretty.  Good riddance!  What a relief!  He says I have another one but I'm hoping this was the main one and the other wont bother me.  If it does, I will just have him take it off.  

Day 1.. After the procedure... I was advised to rest, stay horizontal, avoid being on my feet or sitting at a computer in order to minimize swelling.  Sitz baths, a round of antibiotics and a script for Lortabs only if needed.  I was also told not to look down there or try to inspect with a mirror because it wasnt going to be pretty.  I drove home, no problem.  Got home, had a little discomfort but nothing major.  Had some bleeding but less than I expected.  I did have a lot of drainage from the surgical site which kind of surprised me.  But, I wasnt able to rest like I was told and had some things that had to get done so I suspect this is why I had the drainage.  I had a BM about 8 hours after the surgery and it wasnt as bad as I expected.  A little tugging.  I will say that there was alot of blood in the toilet and I was concerned.  I went directly to a sitz bath and layed down after.  The bleeding stopped and I havent had any since.  Just drainage.  Havent taken any of the prescribed pain meds.  There really isnt any pain.  I did take the antibiotics as instructed.

Day 2.. So far so good.  Just a little drainage.  I have noticed a hard lump in the area that I am hoping/assuming will go down in a couple of days.  It seems almost like a swollen skin tag except its really red and tender.  Its uncomfortable but not unbearable.  Still havent taken any pain meds and cant imagine I will have to at this point.

There you have it.  2 days and no horror story.  Its been alot better than I expected at this point.  Really just hoping the swelling of that other area goes down soon.  Its not pretty, thats for sure.  Very much looking forward to having that area be "normal" for a change!

I will post an update in a few days.  

[Leo0000]

Days 3-6

Pretty uncomfortable.  Lots of drainage from the site particularly if sitting or standing for long periods.  Ladies, wear an actual pad.  Panty liners arent really sufficient.  I was taking several sitz baths a day and did as much lounging as I could.  I think my problems mainly stem from the second skin tag that I need to get removed and the localized swelling in the area caused it to swell and hurt quite a bit.  I called the Center for Colorectal Health to see if they could see me before my follow up and remove the tag but the woman said the Dr. would not see me or even tentatively schedule the procedure until my follow up to make sure I was completely healed.  

One gripe I have about the Center for Colorectal Health is that they seem to draw out the procedures and suck co-pays and fees.  They would not band more than one hem, they would not remove more than one tag, they will not schedule a procedure until they see you first and then make you come back despite knowing the problem exists and needs to be taken care of.  I have been having procedures for almost exactly a year and by the time it is all said and done, I will have been there 10-12 times at $45 a pop.  A little ridiculous in my opinion.  But, they seem to have a monopoly on this particular niche and the banding procedure, so what can you do?  Yet another example of a system badly in need of reform.  

Day 7

Site of removal seems to be healing well.  2nd skin tag is still pretty swollen.  The area DEF doesnt look pany better than it did before.  I'm just trying to be patient and tell myself it will all work out and be normal down there in the next 4-6 weeks. Still have 3 more weeks until my follow-up.  I did have a BM and there was blood.  Still taking a few sitz baths a day.  There is less discomfort than there has been and I did manage to go to the gym today.  Ran and did upper body stuff.  No legs or squats or anything.  

Overall, still glad I had the procedure done.  Just wish they would have done them both at once but that would be one less co-pay and one less procedure to charge for.  So frustrating.  

[foo8]

I feel that I must post.  A couple months ago I got a thrombosed hemorrhoid which healed on its own.  Knowing nothing about hemorrhoids I read everything I could on the internet -- bad idea!  It caused me a huge amount of anxiety.  

I was pretty convinced the hemorrhoid had healed and I just had a skin tag but the thing kept swelling up and causing me to panic (I know, that's somewhat silly but it's the truth).  I went to a colon/rectal surgeons office and they confirmed that it was a benign skin tag.  Because it was causing me pain frequently (nearly once a week) they said I should consider having it removed.  I then found this web page and that certainly didn't help with my anxiety level.

Yesterday I had it removed.  The Doc said he used novocaine.  The shot hurt a bit but it really wasn't bad at all.  Then he used surgical scissors to remove the skin tag.  There was some very slight pain involved but less than the novocaine.  I think the entire procedure took 5 minutes.

I've had almost no pain.  I had a BM this morning and there was a small amount of blood but nothing serious and the bleeding stopped very quickly.

The Doc said I should be fully healed in about 1 week.

Perhaps my experience is easier than others because my tag wasn't very large?  The Doc said it was about the size of a shriveled up pea and was completely external.  The Doc didn't even schedule a follow-up appointment probably because the wounds are so minor.

I'm glad to have this thing gone and hopefully I won't experience the pain and swelling anymore.

I am also a runner and the pain is so minor that I plan to run today.  The Doc said that was completely fine.

So I guess experiences vary but so far mine certainly falls into the "it's nothing, don't worry" category.  I hope this post can comfort someone and make their decision easier.

[tfresh1]

4 skin tag removals from my anus. It is now the 6th day after my surgury to surgically remove 4 skin tags that were developed from having an anal fissure condition for many years. I decided to have them removed for cosmetic reasons.  I was put under general anasthesia, and also given my second botox shot into my sphincter muscle which has worked wonders in helping my chronic fissure heal. Now I must drink more water, and take metamusil every single day. Back to the skin tag removal. So far it has been extroidinarily painful. The first 3 days I had to take very strong pain meds such as vicodin. Bowel movements are still just as painful as the first day after the surgury. I decided at this point to not eat food, and just drink juice for another few days. Because going poo is like going to war and I get shot down and rendered in the most severe pain I have ever experienced in my entire life. Apparently, the anus has loads of nerves...great, who thought that was a good idea when creating the human body. It has the same amount of nerve endings as the facial lips. Now that makes more sense!  Anyway, I ABSOLUTELY DREAD having a bowel movement in the morning, and it is like taking one step forward and two steps back in the healing of the surgical wounds, ,which also bleed heavily each time. I run the bath water before I go to the bathroom so I can crawl in there like someone who has just been hit by a truck. The warm water takes about 4 minutes to relieve the pain. The doctor said that it would be one to two weeks before I was pain free. Man...this is one of the most painful things I have ever done. But I hope it will be worth it in the long term. I know I will feel more comfortable sexually, and not self conscious about the extra tissue. Good luck to anyone willing to go through this. It is seriously painful!!!

[kimmiesimons]

Wow, I couldn't agree more.  I am in so much pain.  I had an anal skin tag removed and it was and still is far more painful than the previous hemmerhoid bandings that I have had.  I am hoping for good results because I better have a beautiful butt after all this pain.  OMG!  Not sure I would do it again if I were to go back in time.  The best advice I can give at this time is to schedule someone to take care of your kids and book time off work because you will run between your bed and a sitz bath several times a day for at least the first few days.  The pain is the worst ever and I have had two c-sections.  I am hoping this is all worth it.  Looking forward to wiping my bum normally and feeling confident in bed.  Fingers crossed.  This is painful.

[dkrh]

Let me just tell you...I just had a few lesions and a hemorrhoid removed.  My surgery lasted about an hour.  I was out cold, so I didn't have any memory of it.  However, recovery was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life.  I have never cried so much.  I am a 36 year old man and I'm sitting on the toilet crying and sobbing like a baby.  I actually found using the sitz bath was easier to use for a bowel movement than just sitting on the toilet.  The warm water actually induced a bowel movement. I also found that laying on my back in the tub with my legs up in a baby delivery position with hot water from the shower beating down on my rectum area was very soothing.  I wish my recovery was as easy as others' I have heard, but i had some complications and needed to go to the ER.  For some reason, I lost almost 3 pints of blood in a two hour time frame.  It was disgusting.  It was like deep red and most of it a very thick viscous consistency.  Smelled horrible.  After I was sent home, I laid in bed for 2-3 days.  All pain has disappeared and I am back to normal bowel movements.  It's still a little painful, but I can handle it.  It's one of those feel good pains.  If you know what I mean. Since the surgery, I have developed what my doctor believes is a thrombosed hemorrhoid and that it would be very painful to remove.  I was like...I don't care.  It wasn't there before the surgery, and now i want it gone.  He will not do anything until my follow-up.  Typical.  Throughout this whole procedure, my doctors were not listening to my complaints about what I believed was more pain than typical with this type of procedure.  And in the end I had to rush to the ER.  The pain killers don't help much with this type of pain either.  I was popping them every 3-4 hours along with 600 mg of Ibuprofen.

I am sure I will have to argue and insist that he remove the thrombosed hemorrhoid and it will take another 4-6 weeks of my life away while i wait for the procedure to be performed.  I just want my life back.

[rgk235]

Well I certainly hope you are feeling better now to read your story was setting me a little uneasy to say the least.

I am having the Skin Tag Problems after having a lot of haemorrhoids and I too suffered back in the 80's a Thrombosed haemorrhoid.  This was never removed but the doctor did take imitate action when she saw the problem.  She got a needle and said I have to freeze this because I have to remove the blood clot.  That thing was so painful trying to even urinate and I had ended up with a bladder infection from this thrombosed haemorrhoid.  Once she lanced it and removed the pressure, I was able to then continue on with my regular duties.  But now I have many skin tags as I mentioned earlier.  I am going to see the doctor / surgeon on December 5, 2011.  Now I don't know if he will do the surgery that day or not but I am frightened out of my skull.  But I think my skin tags are quite large or large enough that it will probably be more than one treatment.  I guess I will have to get to the drug store and buy a sitz bath apparatus so I can be ready and I will also soak in ebsom salts bath water.  This will help with the healing I have used that for some time on many cuts and some that were even at risk for infection.  It draws out the poison when you use ebsom salts in the tepid water.  I am looking forward to these embarrassing things to be gone.  The reason is I also go to the gym and I am afraid to bend over when I drop the soap because maybe people will be grossed out.  So I guess I have been squatting when I happen to drop the dang soap, to avoid embarrassment.

I also found that these skin tags make it almost impossible to become clean after using toilet paper.  It seems like you can wipe and wipe and wipe and you never get clean until you go home and take a shower.  

So I feel for you and I hope by now you are all healed up.  I guess you shouldn't take Ibuprophen when you have this surgery as it thins the blood too much and causes excessive unnecessary bleeding.

Well I would like to hear from you if you have any advice for me.  I am so sorry you had so much pain.


RgK

[CCRider222]

I wanted a follow up to ask how the final results are and if you think it was worth the painfull process? I am facing removal next week and am terified based on the message boards..and there is little followup letting us know if everything looks normal down there after some time has passed. Thank you!

[snb361]

I had my anal skin tag removal done today in the physician's office (a colorectal surgeon), I had scheduled it for July but I got it in my head 5 days ago to try to tie it off myself and just be rid of it! EPIC FAIL! I used thread and dental floss. The floss came off after the first day but the thread didn't...and rather than "drying up", the tag became painful and swollen...so tender to touch! I couldn't sleep for more than a couple of hours without being awakened by the stinging/throbbing sensation from the thread cutting into my skin and the soreness from pulling my cheeks apart so much in an effort to keep them from rubbing against the tag. The only relief was sitting on the toilet (cheeks spread) or on my knees, leaning forward (cheeks spread)...I tried Preparation H, Neosporin, Extra Strength Tylenol...the pain was unbearable. Anyway, the doctor fit me for today, I went in she basically said it had become infected and the thread was still there but it had cut so far that I just couldn't see it and that she'd just remove it of course, along with the tag. So, I'd been dreading the numbing shot, I've had a root canal for an abcessed tooth and the numbing shots were like taking bullets. So, needless to say, I expected the same. But, fortunately, that didn't happen. The worse part of the process turned out to be when she inserted the tube to look into my anus to see if there were any fissures, the second worse was her rubbing the area to clean it first. The shot was painful (on a scale from 1-10...ab/t a 5.5)...but the numbing begins almost as soon as the needle touches you...maybe like 2 seconds.
Then she removed it by electro-cauterization and put in a few dissolvable stitches...I felt COMPLETELY normal right after the surgery...the numbing wore off a couple of hours later and there is some discomfort, but she prescribed me Tylenol #3 with codeine in it and it's perfectly fine. I have very minimal bleeding...so I have a piece of gauze there. I had stopped taking Ibuprofen a couple of weeks ago so I'm sure that's why I have so little bleeding. Anyway, for skin tags that are in your anal/groin area, my advice is to ask the doctor to remove it and IGNORE all the do-it-yourself methods...they are a waste of time and money (plus you end up being in severe pain with no access to prescription strength medication). Just go to the general surgeon, dermatologist or colorectal doctor, pay the copay and  be done.  

[alt0229]

Wow! I did the exact same thing with the string! It seemed like a good idea at the time...two days later not so much. The string was so embedded in the tag. It was excruciating pain and no way possible to get it off. I went to the doctor and she removed it with the same procedure. It really wasn't that bad. I was more embarrassed that I actually tried to remove this thing myself! It's been two days since I had it removed. The recovery hasn't been anything like I thought it would. It only hurts when using the bathroom. I'm terrified of ripping one of the stitches. But I am really swollen. There is this little hard lump that is almost as big as the skin tag was. My doctor said it was from where the local was injected. I was wondering if you had any swelling and how long it took to go down? Also, how long it took for you to completely heal? I'm going on vacation in two weeks and I'm really hoping to be back to normal by then.

[KatieL686]

Hi!

I was just wondering if you can tell me after it was all healed whether the area healed smooth (back to its original state) or if you wereleft with some skin tag/scar tissue? I saw a CRS today who recommended against having the surgery as she said that I would probably end up with a skin tag the same size as I have (small) after surgery due to the inflamation (inflammation) it would cause....but I have read a couple people who said theres healed up just fine so I am unsure now....would love to know how yours went. Thanks!