Anal fistula – Minimally invasive treatment for anal fistula
Anal fistula is an abnormal communication between the anorectum and the perineal skin that usually follows an episode of perianal sepsis. This communication inevitably involves the anal sphincters that are responsible of bowel control.
Treatment of this condition can therefore be difficult and jeopardise the bowel control function thus leading to faecal incontinence. Conventional surgery consists of the lay open of the fistula tract and inevitably involves the division of a variable amount of anal sphincter muscles.
While this approach is highly successful in eradicating the infection it carries a significant risk to the anal sphincters and bowel control function. Furthermore the recovery can be prolonged and very uncomfortable. Mr Giordano has recently developed a new minimally invasive muscle sparing treatment option that does not involve the division of the muscles and ensure that the bowel control function is well preserved.
This treatment consists of filling the fistulous tract with a specially devised collagen paste that
stimulates the natural healing of the fistula. In a recent clinical trial involving 100 patients Mr Giordano demonstrated that 53% of patients were successfully healed with no patients experiencing any problem of incontinence.
Most patients had fully recovered within less than 10 days.
More information: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/codi.13715