[Surgical reconstruction of traumatic sphincter muscle defects]

Traumatic anal sphincter muscle defects often occur after childbirth and surgery and can lead to fecal incontinence that requires further treatment.

The aim of this article is to illustrate the etiology of traumatic sphincter muscle defects, the treatment options of subsequent fecal incontinence and their evaluation on the basis of current studies.

Selected studies are presented.

Fecal incontinence presenting with a traumatic sphincter muscle defect is often due to multiple factors especially in the aged and makes the use of extended diagnostic tools necessary; however, the subjective complaints do not always correlate with morphological or functional diagnostic findings. Besides reconstructive procedures, such as sphincteroplasty and graciloplasty, sphincter augmentation techniques and sacral nerve stimulation can also be applied in traumatic sphincter muscle defects that are often associated with a loss of efficacy in the long term or a high rate of adverse events.

The fecal incontinence associated with traumatic sphincter insufficiency represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to the multifactorial origin. It is not uncommon that patients have to undergo several surgical and conservative interventions.