Colin Elton1, Brian J Stoodley. 1. Department of General Surgery, Eastbourne General Hospital, East Sussex, UK. colinelton@aol.com
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Previous series have evaluated the overlapping anterior anal sphincter repair, but with short-term follow-up and a wide range of results. We assessed our results of the anterior sphincter repair in patients with faecal incontinence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 20 patients who underwent an anterior anal sphincter repair between October 1994 and July 1999. In 12 of the patients, a polypropylene mesh was inserted in the repair to act as re-inforcement. Pre-operatively, all patients had an anterior anal sphincter defect diagnosed with endo-anal ultrasound. Clinical evaluation included the patient's assessment of improvement and the Cleveland Clinic Continence Score before and after surgery. Manometric studies were performed pre-operatively and a median time of 11.5 mouths postoperatively. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 13 months (range, 3-61 months), 16 out of 20 (80%) patients said that surgery had improved their symptoms. There was a significant improvement in the continence score from 14 (range, 4-15) before operation to 7 (range, 0-15) after operation (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in mean anal sphincter length, mean resting and maximum squeeze anal canal pressures before and after surgery. Similar results were obtained in patients with and without mesh re-inforcement. CONCLUSIONS: In our institution, the overlapping anterior anal sphincter repair is successful in relieving symptoms in patients with faecal incontinence due to an anterior sphincter defect. This improvement, however, is not associated with any significant changes in anorectal manometric parameters.
OBJECTIVE: Previous series have evaluated the overlapping anterior anal sphincter repair, but with short-term follow-up and a wide range of results. We assessed our results of the anterior sphincter repair in patients with faecal incontinence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 20 patients who underwent an anterior anal sphincter repair between October 1994 and July 1999. In 12 of the patients, a polypropylene mesh was inserted in the repair to act as re-inforcement. Pre-operatively, all patients had an anterior anal sphincter defect diagnosed with endo-anal ultrasound. Clinical evaluation included the patient's assessment of improvement and the Cleveland Clinic Continence Score before and after surgery. Manometric studies were performed pre-operatively and a median time of 11.5 mouths postoperatively. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 13 months (range, 3-61 months), 16 out of 20 (80%) patients said that surgery had improved their symptoms. There was a significant improvement in the continence score from 14 (range, 4-15) before operation to 7 (range, 0-15) after operation (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in mean anal sphincter length, mean resting and maximum squeeze anal canal pressures before and after surgery. Similar results were obtained in patients with and without mesh re-inforcement. CONCLUSIONS: In our institution, the overlapping anterior anal sphincter repair is successful in relieving symptoms in patients with faecal incontinence due to an anterior sphincter defect. This improvement, however, is not associated with any significant changes in anorectal manometric parameters.
Authors: R E Karulf; J A Coller; D C Bartolo; D O Bowden; P L Roberts; J J Murray; D J Schoetz; M C Veidenheimer Journal: Dis Colon Rectum Date: 1991-06 Impact factor: 4.585