Surgical treatment of recurrent complete rectal prolapse: a thirty-year experience

Complete recurrent rectal prolapse (RRP) after initial prolapse surgery is well described. Our aim was to examine the possible causes for RRP, to learn of the operations performed most frequently, and to examine the outcome following recurrence surgery.

Patients with RRP were reviewed retrospectively from 1963 to 1993.

A total of 24 patients (19 females) had RRP. Of these, 29 operations were performed; three patients had 2 RRP operations, and one patient had 3 RRP operations. Median age was 56 (range, 18-88) years. Median follow-up and median duration to recurrence were 6.75 (range, 0.08-17) years and 2 (range, 0.1-29) years. One patient had RRP at the end of the follow-up period. RRP occurred after 15 abdominal and 9 perineal operations. Treatment for RRP included 25 abdominal and 4 perineal operations. Causes for RRP were identified in 41 percent of cases and was most often attributable to problems with the mesh following the Ripstein procedure. Preoperative incontinence and constipation were largely unchanged by RRP operation.

RRP occurred most commonly because of problems with the mesh, but no etiologic factor was found in the majority of patients. Abdominal operations were performed more frequently than perineal approaches for RRP. Elimination of prolapse can be obtained, but bowel dysfunction still remains in 60 percent of patients.