Can you be on your period when your getting surgery for an anal fistula?

It's really down to your surgeon. It technically doesn't cause a problem with the surgery but given the presence of blood it's down to the surgeon to decide whether he or she should wait until you've ended your period for you to have the surgery. If the surgery is urgent then your doctor may just say that they'll go ahead with the surgery, but if it's not urgent then they may just wait until you've finished your period to make the surgery much easier and with fewer complications.

• The surgery

The surgery will usually be necessary to treat anal fistula because very few of them are able to heal on their own. The aim of the surgery is to heal the fistula whilst attempting to avoid any damage to the sphincter muscles. Damage to these muscles can cause bowel incontinence.

Surgery for anal fistulae will usually be carried out either under general anesthetic (where you are unconscious and can't feel anything) or local anesthetic (where you will be conscious but the area that's being treated will be numbed so that you can't feel any pain.

There are a couple of techniques that treat anal fistulae. The kind of surgery that you have will depend on the position of your anal fistula. In every single case, though, your surgeon will be able to explain the procedure to you in a lot of detail. This makes you feel more comfortable with the surgery. You should ensure that you discuss the period issue well in advance of the surgery and your surgeon will tell you whether or not it will be a problem. Your doctor will be completely understanding so you can ask them whatever you want, you don't need to ask the Internet. Just ask your surgeon directly.