Management of anorectal malformations in Varanasi, India: a long-term review of single and three stage procedures.

To compare the results of the staged procedure (Group A) with the primary single stage posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP) procedure (Group B) for high and intermediate anorectal anomalies. Four hundred ninety cases of primary single stage procedure done over a period of seven years (1996-2003) were compared with 458 out of 763 cases of staged procedure (Historical control) that underwent all three stages done from 1989 to 1996. Two hundred cases that had been in regular follow up in Group A and 254 cases in Group B who had attained three years of age were evaluated for continence by Kelly's method. The approximate cost of treatment was also calculated. Continence was good in 90 cases (45%), fair in 66 cases (33%) and poor in 44 cases (22%) in Group A while it was good in 204 cases (80% ), fair in 38 cases (15%) and poor in 12 cases (5%) in Group B. In Group A, the mortality was high as only 40% cases completed all the three stages of operation. The mortality was 4.5% in Group B. Primary PSARP is recommended as the better treatment option for intermediate and high-anorectal anomalies with superior results in terms of morbidity, mortality, continence and cost.