Fistula-in-ano: a ten-year follow-up study of horseshoe-abscess fistula-in-ano

A preliminary report in 1965 described a conservative surgical procedure for the management of acute and chronic horseshoe anal fistulas. The operation has been used exclusively at the Ochsner Clinic for this problem since 1963. Forty-one patients were treated from 1963 to 1973. The paper reviews the pathology of acute and chronic horseshoe anal fistulas and describes the surgical procedure for both acute and chronic horseshoe abscess anal fistulas with accompanying illustrations. The excellent results with minimal deformity of the anus and anal canal are attributed to avoidance of severing the superficial external sphincter between its coccygeal origin and the anus. Of the 41 patients treated in the period from 1963 to 1973, healing was good, and there has been no recurrence.