Can (neo)rectal evacuation disorders be treated surgically in inflammatory bowel disease?

Besides the well-known perineal and anal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (abscess, ulcers, fissures and fistulae) anal stricture can develop in Crohn's disease. Usually anal dilation under general anaesthesia in one or two procedures is recommended as the treatment of choice. In the Leiden University Hospital 4 patients were seen in the period 1988-1993 with an anal stricture based on Crohn's disease after previous attempts at dilation. On physical examination and anal manometry it was judged that dilation in a single procedure was endangering faecal continence. It was decided to treat the patients with "self dilation" by means of custom made dilators over a period of several months. Three patients are very satisfied with the results and no longer have disordered defaecation. The fourth patient has only recently started this form of treatment but is experiencing clinical improvement. Anal stricture at the site of the anastomosis of the efferent limb of an ileal pouch in patients after restorative panproctocolectomy is most often the cause of obstructed defaecation. However, patients with such a pouch can develop obstructed defaecation caused by an efferent limb of the pouch that is compressed or intussuscepted on defaecation. Four patients with such a disorder were treated with a new operation to prevent repeated damage to the anal sphincter. In this operation the pouch was opened at the top and a stapling device was used to fuse the efferent limb with the pouch.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)