Clinical outcomes of stapled transanal rectal resection for obstructed defaecation syndrome at 10-year follow-up.

AIM: The long-term efficacy of stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) for surgical management of obstructed defaecation syndrome (ODS) has not been evaluated. Therefore, we investigated the long-term efficacy (> 10 years) of STARR for treatment of ODS related to rectocele or rectal intussusception and the factors that predict treatment outcome. METHOD: This study was a retrospective cohort analysis conducted on prospectively collected data. Seventy-four consecutive patients who underwent STARR for ODS between January 2005 and December 2006 in two Italian hospitals were included. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients [66 women; median age 61 (29-77) years] underwent STARR for ODS. No serious postoperative complications were recorded. Ten years postoperatively, 60 (81%) patients completed the expected follow-up. Twenty-three patients (38%) reported persistent perineal pain and 13 (22%) experienced the urge to defaecate. ODS symptoms recurred in 24 (40%) patients after 10 years. At the 10-year follow-up, 35% of patients were very satisfied and 28% would recommend STARR and undergo the same procedure again if necessary. In contrast, 21% of patients would not select STARR again. Previous uro-gynaecological or rectal surgery and high constipation scores were identified as risk factors for recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Stapled transanal rectal resection significantly improves the symptoms of ODS in the short term. In the long term STARR is less effective, however.

Long-term results after stapled hemorrhoidopexy: a survey study with mean follow-up of 12 years.

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhoidal prolapse is a common benign disease. The introduction of circular-stapled hemorrhoidopexy as an alternative to the conventional hemorrhoidectomy led to a new spectrum of postoperative outcomes and complications. The aim of the present study was to evaluate long-term results after stapled hemorrhoidopexy. METHODS: All the patients who had stapled hemorrhoidopexy using a PPH03 stapler, from January 2003 to December 2005, were retrospectively collected in a dedicated database. Between March and May 2016, all the patients were asked by phone to complete a questionnaire. The study evaluated anatomical recurrence, symptom recurrence and frequency, and satisfaction after surgery. The postoperative complications recorded were hemorrhage, hematoma, urinary retention, anastomotic stenosis, persistent anal pain, tenesmus, and impaired anal continence evaluated also with the Faecal Incontinence Severity Index score. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety four patients were identified and 171 completed the questionnaire. The mean follow-up was 12 ± 0.8 years (range 11-13 years). Anatomical self-reported prolapse recurrence was 40.9% (n = 70). In 75.6% (n = 129) of patients, the severity and frequency of symptoms improved. The overall complication rate was 56.7% (n = 40) with a serious adverse event rate of 8.7% (n = 15). The overall tenesmus rate was 38.2% (n = 65) and the overall impaired continence rate was 39.1% (n = 67). Medical therapy was still required occasionally by 40.3% (n = 69) of the patients and 9.3% (n = 16) of the patients underwent surgery for recurrence. Patient satisfaction rate was good (≥ 3 on a scale of 1 to 5) in 81.2% (n = 139) of cases. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that stapled hemorrhoidopexy using the first-generation devices is safe and feasible but associated with a high recurrence and incontinence rate. More stringent selection criteria in association with the use of large volume devices can lead to better results in the future.

Correction to: Long-term results after stapled hemorrhoidopexy: a survey study with mean follow-up of 12 years.

Unfortunately, the 7th author's family name was incorrectly published in the original publication. The complete correct name should read as follows.

Effectiveness of sacral nerve stimulation in fecal incontinence after multimodal oncologic treatment for pelvic malignancies: a multicenter study with 2-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: To assess whether sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is an effective treatment for severe fecal incontinence (FI) after radiotherapy (RT)/chemoRT (CRT) in combination with pelvic surgery. METHODS: A multicenter study was conducted on patients with FI that developed after multimodal therapy for pelvic tumors and was refractory to non-operative management, who were treated with SNS between November 2009 and November 2012. Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed. Cleveland Clinic FI score (CCFIS), FI episodes per week, FI Quality of Life (FIQoL), anorectal manometry and pudendal nerve terminal motor latency were evaluated before and after SNS. RESULTS: Eleven patients (seven females, mean age 67.3 ± 4.8 years) were evaluated in the study period. Multimodal treatments included surgery and CRT (four rectal, two cervical and one prostate cancers), surgery and RT (one cervical and two endometrial cancers) and CRT (one anal cancer). The mean radiation dose was 5.3 Gy, and mean interval between the end of RT and onset of FI was 43.7 ± 23 months. Before SNS, the mean CCFIS and the mean number of FI episodes per week were 15.7 ± 2.8 and 12.3 ± 4.2, respectively. At 12-month follow-up, mean CCFIS improved to 3.6 ± 1.8 (p = 0.003) and the mean number of FI episodes decreased to 2.0 ± 1.9 per week (p = 0.003). These results persisted at 24-month follow-up. Significant improvement was also observed for each of the four domains of FIQoL at 12- and 24-month follow-up. Anorectal manometry values did not change significantly at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: SNS is feasible and may be an effective therapeutic option for FI after multimodal treatment of pelvic malignancies.