From Failure to Fully Cured

Dr. Ashwin Porwal gave me my life back. My fistula journey began in April 2020 when I developed a deep perianal abscess. After an initial misdiagnosis and a reluctance to go to the Emergency Room (a month into the pandemic), the abscess grew for 2 weeks. After it was drained, I developed a fistula, and joined facebook support groups for advice and tips. I found a reputable colorectal surgeon who specializes in fistulas, but after 12 surgeries in 18 months (mostly EUAs and seton placements, as well as a failed Advancement FLAP surgery in April 2021), I decided to stop putting my life on hold. My husband and I started our family, and I went through my pregnancy with 8 setons, giving birth via C-Section in June 2022. During these two years, I saw two or three posts on various FB support groups with mentions of a clinic in India with a 99% success rate. A scam, I thought, too good to be true. But as more time went on, I began to realize how inadequate the US healthcare system seemed to be at treating this tricky condition. So I began to look into the clinic I had heard about, Healing Hands in Pune, India. I read all the news articles about Dr. Porwal’s success, curing international patients with his self-invented DLPL laser technique. I read his medical journals and published/verified studies, and spoke on the phone with several folks from the US who had been treated by him. After that, I was convinced. But it’s one thing to hear about this amazing success rate, it’s another thing to decide to fly halfway around the world and live there for 8-12 weeks. It’s a scary, life changing decision. But I was tired of living like this, and if there was even a chance that he could fix me, and return my life to normal, I had to try.

In Sept 2023, I flew to India with my husband, our 14 month old toddler, and my parents, who wanted to be there to help us financially and emotionally, to help care for our toddler while I was getting treatment. We stayed 12 weeks total, and by the end of it I was 100% healed, internally and externally. Fistula free! Dr. Porwal is truly an incredible surgeon, and the most kind and humble person I’ve ever met. During my initial consult, he camera scoped me painlessly behind some privacy screening so that I could see (and my parents and husband could see on another monitor screen) the actual fistula tract and its branches. In less than 30 seconds he could tell I had 1 internal opening that branched to both sides (horseshoe) and also had developed additional tracts running north, alongside my labia on both sides. He showed me that even the closest seton (I had 4 at the time) was centimeters away from the tract itself, completely in the wrong spot. He diagnosed me as a Class V (most complex) but promised he would cure me. And he did.

It’s not always easy, being in a foreign country for 2-3 months (as a Class V, we planned on 12 weeks just to be safe, which was the perfect amount of time). But Dr. Porwal and the staff at HHC are so kind and responsive. They are just a whatsapp text away, and they truly care about each patient’s mental and physical health. While every patient has a different story or healing journey, that part remains the same. In my case, my internal fistula opening was 100% in 3-4 weeks after the DLPL surgery. We stayed another 8 weeks because that’s how long it took for the external wounds to slowly close from the inside out. In the later weeks/months, Dr. Porwal sees you every 2-4 days, to ensure the wounds are healing properly and no troublesome scar tissue is forming incorrectly. These extensive follow-ups aren’t always pleasant (proper healing requires debriding the wounds, which can be painful or uncomfortable) but they are crucial to ensure 100% success and no future recurrence. This type of attention to detail and follow-up care is unmatched, and truly why his success rate is so high.

I’ve been back in the US for just over 4 months now, and I am still 100% healed and have NO symptoms. No drainage, no pain, nothing. I’m able to run and work-out again, make plans to go to the beach, go snowboarding or vacationing or even just to work without worrying about where I’m going to shower, or how much gauze to pack, or whether I’ll re-abscess. I can eat seeds and nuts and lentils without worrying about tiny pieces getting caught in my fistula tract. My toddler can climb all over me without me worrying about pain and discomfort and setons. Dr. Porwal has given me my life back and I am so incredibly grateful.