Perineal wound healing after proctectomy for carcinoma and inflammatory disease

The rate of wound healing after proctectomy was assessed in a series of 105 patients. Early healing was dependent principally on the primary diagnosis, to a lesser extent on faecal contamination and was not related to steroid administration. Early healing (with 3 months) occurred in 72 per cent of patients undergoing operation for cancer and 45 per cent of these operated on for ulcerative or Crohn's colitis.