[Role of defecography in female posterior pelvic floor abnormalities]. / Place de la défécographie dans les troubles de la statique pelvienne postérieure féminine.

Pelvic floor abnormalities often impact significantly the quality of life and result in a variety of symptoms, including chronic pelvic pain, fecal incontinence, and obstructed constipation. Fluoroscopic defecography and MR defecography enable identification of rectocele, rectal prolapse, enterocele, sigmoidocele with high prevalence in female patients with obstructed constipation, fecal incontinence, and chronic pelvic pain. In this manuscript, we describe the techniques and indications of the two techniques of defecography. We discuss the abnormalities of the posterior pelvic floor compartment at the origin of constipation, incontinence, chronic pelvic pain. Finally we compare the data obtained by clinical examination and defecography, remembering that 50% of enterocele and 100% of sigmoidocele are missed at clinical examination.