ABSTRACT
Discussions regarding fistula-in-ano date to ancient history. The oldest written testimony is the Hammurabi Code of the king of Babylonia, who in 2200 B.C. imposed the honoraries for the proctologist in that epoch. Hippocrates made reference to surgical therapy for fistulous disease in his book called Peeri Siryggon in 460 to 365 B.C. The English surgeon John Arderne (1307-1309) wrote Treatises of Fistula in Ano and Haemmorhoids in 1376, which illustrates fistulotomy and seton use. In the early 20th century, surgeons, namely, Goodsall and Miles, Milligan and Morgan, and Thompson and Lockhart-Mummery made important contributions to the treatment of anal fistula.
