Anorectal Prolapse

Abstract

Rectal prolapse is defined as the state in which the rectal walls have prolapsed to a degree where they protrude out the anus and are visible outside the body.

Infants often suffer from this disease when they have severe chronic constipation and frequent watery diarrhea. Its peak incidence is between 1 and 3 years. Prolapse can be either partial or complete. Patients who undergo a radical procedure of anorectal malformation and Hirschsprung’s disease often experience anorectal prolapse following pull-through operation (Rintala RJ, Pakarinen MP. 104 other diagnosis of the anus and rectum, anorectal function. In: Coran AG, Adzick NS, Krummel TM Laberge JM, Shamberger RC, Caldamone AA, editors. Pediatric surgery 7th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 2012. pp. 1311–20). Neurological impaired patients also suffer from a similar state. These patients cannot recover with conservative treatment. A surgical procedure is the first-line choice of treatment. There are many types of procedures for the surgical treatment of anorectal prolapse, which includes more than 50 methods including modified ones. Surgical treatment for anorectal prolapse for pediatric patients should be selected to prevent injury of the pelvic floor muscle and anal sphincter in the presence or absence of the underlying disorders in regard to the quality of life. In this text, we introduce the perineal approach and laparoscopic approach.

The figures in this chapter are reprinted with permission from Standard Pediatric Operative Surgery (in Japanese), Medical View Co., Ltd., 2013, with the exception of occasional newly added figures that may appear.