Long-term results of open and closed sphincterotomy for anal fissure

Three hundred fifty patients who underwent open or closed lateral internal anal sphincterotomy for acute or chronic anal fissure between January 1981 and June 1985 were reviewed. Minimum follow-up was 14 months (mean, 37 months). No patient underwent an additional procedure at the time of sphincterotomy. Twenty-one failed to heal or developed a recurrence in the interval (6 percent). Five of these individuals were found subsequently to have Crohn's disease. Excluding these patients, the incidence of nonhealing was 4.6 percent. Eight patients (2.3 percent) developed postoperative infections requiring drainage, one half of which were associated with fistulas. Sixty patients (17 percent) complained of incontinence for flatus or feces. For two thirds, this was transient. There was no statistically significant difference in rate of healing or morbidity when comparing the open with the closed method.