What this experience covers
This experience covers what fissurectomy wound healing looks like over the weeks and months of recovery. The wound is left open to heal from the inside out (secondary intention), which means the timeline is longer than a stitched wound. This is a composite drawn from many anonymised accounts.
The pattern
Week 1: the acute phase
The wound is fresh and the area is sore. People describe moderate to significant pain, particularly with bowel movements. Drainage — blood-tinged fluid — is normal. The wound looks raw and open.
Weeks 2-3: early granulation
The wound begins to fill in from the bottom with granulation tissue — a pink, slightly bumpy tissue that indicates healing. Pain gradually decreases. Drainage reduces but does not stop entirely. Bowel movements become slightly easier.
Weeks 4-6: visible progress
By this point, many people can see that the wound is noticeably smaller. The granulation tissue is filling the wound from the inside. Pain with bowel movements has usually reduced significantly. Some people describe the wound looking quite healthy — pink and gradually closing.
Weeks 6-12: slow but steady
Healing slows as the wound gets smaller but continues to close. The final stage of healing — the skin growing over the granulation tissue — takes the longest. Some people describe this phase as frustrating because the progress is hard to see.
Beyond 12 weeks
Most fissurectomy wounds are fully or nearly fully healed by twelve weeks. Some take longer, particularly larger wounds or those in people with factors that affect healing. Complete skin maturation and scar remodelling can continue for months.
When to contact your doctor
Seek medical attention if you experience:
- Wound that appears to stop healing or is getting larger
- Increasing pain after a period of improvement
- Foul-smelling discharge or pus
- Fever or feeling generally unwell
- Bleeding that is heavy or increasing