Better option for the patients of low fistula in ano: Fistulectomy or fistulotomy

Aim: to determine which is a better option for patients of low fistula-in-ano: fistulectomy or fistulotomy. materials and methods: this prospective randomized controlled trial was carried out in general surgery department of nawaz sharif social security university hospital lahore from december 2010 to december 2011. all the patients were followed up for 10 months. results: a total 150 patients were included in this study which after randomization was divided into two groups,group 1 included 75 patients who underwent fistulectomy and group 2 also included 75 patients who underwent fistulotomy. conclusions: this study demonstrated fistulotomy resulted in lesser pain,bleeding,shorter wound healing time and shorter duration of postoperative wound discharge in comparison to a fistulectomy. the findings of our study need to be further evaluated with studies involving longer follow-ups.