Abdominoperineal levator ani repair for rectal prolapse: technique

A review some twenty years ago of the then popular rectosigmoidectomy for complete rectal prolapse having shown an excessive recurrence rate and a high incidence of incontinence, it was felt essential to seek for a more satisfactory and reliable surgical procedure for its management. This was achieved in the form of an operation, carried out from above and below, approximating the levator ani anterior to the rectum. This has given very much more satisfactory results, and is described in detail in this paper.