Postpartum anal skin tag removal, any recent experiences or advice?

[dragonfly02]

Hi all,

I gave birth 6 weeks ago and have developed quite a large anal skin tag. It’s probably about a cm wide and hangs and is causing me a lot of anxiety and stress. I think there might be another couple of small ones but they don’t bother me so I’d only want the one removed.

I know in the grand scheme of things, it’s a ridiculous thing to be concerned about but it bothers me and I’m concious about starting to have sex with my husband again as I know he’ll be able to see it in certain positions (trust me, I’ve checked every possible way haha).

I have spoke to him about it because he knows when I’m obsessing over something and of course, he’s been wonderful and said nothing like that would bother him but it bothers me. I’m 32 and I don’t want to live with this and risk it getting larger. I feel like I’ve spent the last year not feeling myself and this kinda’ was the cherry on the cake.

I’m contemplating surgery to have it removed and was looking for any (hopefully positive) stories. I’ve looked up threads on here but they’re all old so I’m hoping there’s some people who have had this surgery recently and can give me their advice.
I know it’s meant to be a super painful recovery but I think 2-3 weeks of pain to feel more confident again might be worth it and I’ve had a rough recovery after childbirth so why not get it done.

only thing is, baby girl was my first child and I don’t know if we want anymore, if we do, I want a big gap between them and I know there’s risk of more in another pregnancy but do I want to live with this for the next 6 years before I potentially have another child? I don’t think I do.

I had one removed with a local anaesthetic by the GP. It was painless with no after effects. First stop your GP.

Oh really?
How long ago was this?
ive read some people can get it through NHS and some can’t but I’m prepared to pay private I think if needed. I’ll wait a couple of months and check it’s not just my hormones making everything feel worse than it is.

It was just before Covid. I must say, I was very pleased when the GP told me it could be removed at the surgery. I was expecting things to be far more complicated.

Yeah I would be to! Lucky you. Think you might be one of the lucky ones because I’ve not heard of that being done much anywhere I’ve read. Was it cut off or frozen? And how big was it? Because I’m thinking cause of the size of mine that it’ll be a cut and stitches job.

It was frozen off. It was smaller than yours - 5mm wide, 10mm long approx.

Ah could be why! But I’ll definitely go to the go first anyway. Thank you for your sharing ☺️

Very happy to share 😊 Good luck! It's a tiny procedure in the great scheme of things. Hope you have a doughnut cushion for after 🙃

Check first that it's not an anal fissure as those produce a tag. It can be caused by childbirth and will need treatment/healing time. If you are quite flexible, you can buy skin tag remover kits which come with a tiny band and applicator tool which will cut off the blood supply, causing the tag to fall off by itself and saving you money. Just keep the area clean.

Thanks for this! I have my 6 week check with the gp scheduled for next week so I plan to bring it up then so hopefully they’ll take it seriously but we’ll see.
I’ve seen the bands but I’m a bit nervous to try myself in that area as there’s so much online saying it’s a bad idea but I’ve seen people have had good things. Have you personally tried it?

@dragonfly02 I've used the kits with success. I also removed a skin tag in a sensitive area with dental floss when I was young, just tied it as tight as possible. The kits are so much easier than floss though.

I am very tempted to try this, I’m just nervous because the join of it is the full length of the tag as well so it’s not got like a small nib so I worry I might cause an infection or something.

Unless you've got stacks of cash I wouldn't bother until you're done having kids. I paid private for a sigmoidoscopy last year as I was sick of being on the nhs waiting list for really painful external haemorrhoids - just the ten minute scope up the bum and the consultation was £3K. Turned out I had a recurring fissure that healed with calcium channel blockers so I didn't need surgery in the end, which I presume would be £10K+. This was in Manchester, so not even southern prices. I was put on the NHS waiting list to see a surgeon and it took 9 months to even get the admission call. I was in so much pain from the fissure I could barely work, I've never experienced anything like it in my life. I was in agony from my morning poo until about 8pm at night every day, and it was still classed as low priority in the NHS system.

Oh my gosh this sounds awful, I’m so sorry you were in so much pain but hoping it’s sorted for you now?

luckily I have no pain so it’s just for my confidence which I know is a lot of money to spend but we’re not sure we want more kids and that’s why I don’t know if I want to wait because I know if we did, we want a big gap between them, this is one of the issues because it’s a lot of money to spend if more come back in another pregnancy. Lots to think about. I’ll go for my six week check and mention it to the GP and maybe when my hormones settle I’ll decide I’m not as bothered by it.

thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Hmm this is interesting to know! Maybe I should bite the bullet and try.

I had mine removed on the nhs. I was put to sleep. I have to say it was the most painful recovery I have ever experienced. When going for a poo especially! Worse than recovering after childbirth. I wouldn’t go through it again but if you are happy to deal with the pain for a few weeks then you might as well x

Hi OP, I just wanted to share a different view.

I have scarring in that area from having twins (so not skin tag but similar). I wondered about getting it treated and I asked the opinion of a women's health physio I was seeing.

She strongly advised against it as she said the scar tissue in that area can be a bit dodgy - "friable" or brittle I think she said! Basically, it is an area that sees a lot of strain. From going to the loo obviously, but also because muscles around there engage when lifting, jumping, running.

She said there was a risk I would have what was basically cosmetic surgery done and then be left with a functional problem that couldn't be fixed. I am highly active and do circuits, lift weights, running. - I was really scared off by what she said tbh.

So what I would say is, ask about long term risks. Not just "would it impact activity" but, could I run a half marathon or lift a heavy weight. Because you are only young and you don't want to limit yourself in future.

No advice on the skin tag, but I am going to leave this link to a happy po handheld bidet spray here for your consideration Amazon link. I can't recommend it highly enough, and it might make any aftercare less painful.

Was it just the one removed for you?
How are you now? And how long until you think you felt back to yourself? X

This is a good point, if I decided to explore the idea further I’ll definitely ask these questions when considering.
mum a very active person also and wouldn’t want that impacted.
Some days I feel fine about it and look at my daughter and think “if all I have is a skin tag from being able to have her then I’m very lucky” but other days I get down about it. I’m hoping it’s mostly hormones and I’ll feel better in a few weeks as I know the surgery is a big thing to consider.

I’ve had it done twice on the NHS. If you’ve not finished having kids I’d wait until you have because I got new ones during my second pregnancy after I’d had them removed, hence the second removal!

Both times I had mine removed was under GA and it was very sore for a few days when going to the toilet but I was back at work after 2 days each time (office based job) and fully healed in about 10 days