[Surgical therapy of anal fissure]

Lateral internal sphincterotomy has shown to be a very efficient method to treat acute and especially chronic anal fissure. The question remains, whether it is possible to optimate the short and long term outcome by individualizing the extent of sphincterotomy. This can be done by calculating the length of the anal canal and the area under the curve on a preoperative manometric pressure profile. We present the short and long term results over 3 years in a consecutive series of 30 anal fissures. All patients remained symptomfree and had full anal sphincter competence.