Secondary surgery after failed postanal or anterior sphincter repair.

Secondary surgery after failed postanal repair or anterior sphincter repair was performed in eight female patients. After failed postanal repair in five patients, anterior sphincter plication and levatorplasty was the secondary procedure. In two patients a defect of the anterior external sphincter was corrected and in two patients an extremely thin external sphincter was augmented. This contributed to an excellent result in three and a good result in one patient. No improvement was achieved in one patient without anterior defect. After failed anterior sphincter repair in three patients, postanal repair was the secondary procedure. A good result was obtained in one patient and failure in two. Secondary surgery failed postanal or anterior sphincter repair may have a good result in the majority of patients.