Abstract
Subcutaneous lateral sphincterotomy has been preferred to anal dilatation by most surgeons for the treatment of anal fissure in the last decade. Lately, the advantages of a precise, controlled standardized anal dilatation by a rectosigmoid balloon dilator has been proposed. In this report, personal experience with 175 patients treated by balloon anal dilatation for anal fissure is compared with 100 patients treated by subcutaneous lateral sphincterotomy. Healing of anal fissure was achieved in 92% of patients treated by balloon anal dilatation versus 98% of patients treated by sphincterotomy (p>0.05). There were two cases of anal incontinence in patients treated with sphincterotomy versus none with balloon dilatation (p>0.05) and there were four cases of perianal abscess in patients treated with sphincterotomy versus none with balloon dilatation (p=0.018). The return to normal activity and bowel movement was faster in patients treated with balloon anal dilatation than in those who underwent subcutaneous lateral sphincterotomy. In conclusion, balloon anal dilatation is a simple and safe procedure for the treatment of anal fissure. Its success in healing anal fissure is comparable to that of subcutaneous lateral sphincterotomy and the rate of troublesome complications is lower.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 73-75 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Techniques in Coloproctology |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 1 Dec 1998 |
Keywords
- Anal fissure
- Balloon anal dilatation
- Sphincterotomy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery
- Gastroenterology