General and Laparoscopic Surgery in Lagos
Anal fissure surgery in Lagos, when the ointment has not worked
From ₦400,000 all-in in Lagos. Your price is confirmed in writing after an examination, before a date is set or you pay anything.
What ₦400,000 covers
Anal Fissure Surgery
From ₦400,000
Starting all-in rate, lateral internal sphincterotomy
- Surgeon and assistant fees
- Anaesthetist and theatre time
- Standard consumables for the operation
- Your bed for the expected stay
- Routine medication while you are admitted
Price last checked 23 October 2026.
Anal Fissure Surgery at Mezo Health in Lagos, Nigeria costs from ₦400,000 all-in (starting all-in rate, lateral internal sphincterotomy). It covers surgeon and assistant fees, anaesthetist and theatre time, and standard consumables for the operation. This is the starting price for the standard case, and your written quote is agreed before the operation. Prices last checked 23 October 2026.
An anal fissure is a small tear at the anus that makes every bowel motion sharply painful. It is often called piles in Nigeria, but it is a different condition. Most fissures heal with softer stools and a prescribed ointment that relaxes the muscle. For one that has not healed after six to eight weeks of that, a short day-case operation called a lateral internal sphincterotomy relaxes the muscle so the tear can heal, and it heals most chronic fissures.
Also called: Lateral internal sphincterotomy, Sphincterotomy, Fissure operation, Anal fissure repair
Medically reviewed by Dr Debo Odulana, Founder and Chief Executive, Mezo. Last reviewed . This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Care is decided with you after an examination.
All-in package
From ₦400,000, all-in
Starting all-in rate, lateral internal sphincterotomy
Day case. Home the same day.
What the price covers
- Surgeon and assistant fees
- Anaesthetist and theatre time
- Standard consumables for the operation
- Your bed for the expected stay
- Routine medication while you are admitted
- The post-operative review at six weeks
What it does not cover
- The first consultation and the tests that confirm you need the operation
- Treating conditions found during work-up, such as uncontrolled diabetes or an untreated infection
- Take-home medication after discharge
- Care for complications needing intensive care or a return to theatre
- A colonoscopy, where your age or symptoms mean other causes of bleeding must be ruled out first
What would change this price
- Piles, a skin tag or a fistula treated at the same operation
- A fissure in an unusual position, or more than one, which needs tests for another cause before any operation
- An examination under anaesthetic, where the area is too painful to examine in the clinic
- An overnight stay, occasionally needed after the anaesthetic
If an HMO is paying, the case needs prior authorisation before admission. Bring your HMO number to the first consultation and the desk will start it. If the plan declines, you are told the cash price before anything is booked.
Who this is for
- A fissure that has not healed after six to eight weeks of softer stools and a prescribed ointment
- A fissure that keeps coming back after it has healed
- Pain with every bowel motion that is stopping you eating properly or going to the toilet
When it is not the right answer
- A new fissure, which usually heals in a few weeks with fibre, water, stool softeners and warm sitz baths
- A fissure that has not yet had a proper trial of a prescribed ointment that relaxes the muscle
- Someone who already has weak bowel control, where the surgeon will offer a treatment that protects the muscle instead
- Fissures in an unusual position or several at once, which are investigated for Crohn's disease, infection or other causes first
The pathway, step by step
- 1
Examination by a surgeon₦35,000
A gentle look is usually enough to see the tear and tell it apart from piles. If it is too painful, the examination is done under anaesthetic on the day of the operation.
- 2
Ointment first, if it has not been tried
A prescribed ointment that relaxes the muscle, used properly for six to eight weeks, heals many fissures without an operation.
- 3
Written price
If the fissure has not healed, the operation, what it covers and what it costs, agreed in writing before anything is booked.
- 4
The operation
About twenty minutes under spinal or general anaesthetic. A small part of the inner muscle ring is divided so it stops going into spasm, which lets blood reach the tear and it heals.
- 5
Home the same day
With painkillers, a stool softener and written instructions.
- 6
Review at six weeks₦25,000
Healing checked.
Recovery, realistically
Days 1 to 3
Sore, but many people notice the sharp pain of the fissure has already eased by the first bowel motion. Take the stool softener as prescribed.
Week 1 to 2
Back at desk work within a few days to a week. Warm sitz baths help.
Week 2 to 6
The tear heals. Some spotting of blood is normal while it does.
After six weeks
Healed for most people. Keeping stools soft is what stops a new fissure forming.
Risks you should be told about
- Some difficulty controlling wind or, rarely, stool afterwards, usually mild and often temporary, which is why ointments are tried first
- Bleeding or a small bruise near the cut
- Infection or a small abscess, uncommon
- The fissure not healing, or a new one forming later, less likely if constipation is dealt with
Every operation carries risk. A surgeon who lists none is not being straight with you. Yours will go through these with you before you consent.
Questions people ask
Is an anal fissure the same as piles?
No. Piles are swollen blood vessels and are usually painless unless one clots. A fissure is a tear, and it causes sharp, cutting pain with every bowel motion. Both can bleed. The treatment is different, which is why the examination matters.
Will the operation affect my bowel control?
Most people notice no change. A small number have some difficulty controlling wind or, rarely, stool, usually mild. The surgeon goes through your own risk before you agree, and ointments are tried first for this reason.
Is there an option between ointment and surgery?
Yes. An injection of botulinum toxin into the muscle relaxes it for a few months and heals some fissures. It is less likely to give a lasting cure than the operation, and the surgeon can tell you whether it suits you.
How painful is it afterwards?
Usually less painful than the fissure itself. The cut is small, and the spasm that made each bowel motion so painful is what the operation relieves.
Sources and further reading
The guidelines and patient information this page is checked against. Care in Nigeria follows the same evidence; what differs is the price and where it is done.
- Anal fissure. NHS. Patient information.
- The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Anal Fissures. Davids JS et al., Diseases of the Colon and Rectum 66(2):190-199, 2023. Peer-reviewed.
Links last checked 23 October 2026.
Prices shown are Mezo cash prices in naira and were last checked on 23 October 2026. They are what you would be quoted for the standard case described here. Your final quote follows an examination, because the right operation for you may not be this one.