Acute abscess with fistula: long-term results justify drainage and fistulotomy

Conventional treatment of anal abscess by a simple drainage continues to be routine in many centers despite retrospective and randomized data showing that primary fistulotomy at the time of abscess drainage is safe and efficient. The purpose of this study is to report the long-term results of fistulotomy in the treatment of anal abscesses. This is a prospective nonrandomized study of 165 consecutive patients treated for anal abscess in University Hospital Hassan II, Fez, Morocco, between January 2005 and December 2010. Altogether 102 patients were eligible to be included in the study. Among them, 52 were treated by a simple drainage and 50 by drainage with fistulotomy. The results were analyzed in terms of recurrence and incontinence after a median follow-up of 3.2 years (range 2-6 years). The groups were comparable in terms of age, gender distribution, type and size of abscess. The recurrence rate after surgery was significantly higher in the group treated by drainage alone (88 %) compared to other group treated by drainage and fistulotomy (4, 8 %) (p < 0.0001). However, there was a tendency to a higher risk of fecal incontinence in the fistulotomy group (5 % vs 1 %), although this difference was not significant (p = 0.27). In the group treated by drainage and fistulotomy, high fistula tract patients are more prone to develop incontinence and recurrence, mainly within the first year. A long-term follow-up seems not to influence the results of fistulotomy group. These findings confirm that fistulotomy is an efficient and safe treatment of anal abscess with good long-term results. An exception is a high fistula, where fistulotomy may be associated with a risk of recurrence and incontinence.