Treatment of fecal incontinence by overlapping sphincteroplasty

The authors describe overlapping sphincteroplasty for the reconstruction of injuried anal sphincters. This technique was applied for obstetric, surgical and traumatic injuries i 57 patients. Both anal sphincters were injuried in 37 cases. A single damage of the external sphincter was observed in 20 cases. The anal sphincteric function has been evaluated pre and postoperatively according to Miller's scale (clinical criteria) and by manometry. The manometric studies were performed in 49 patients. Maximal resting tone, maximal squeeze pressure and the anal canal length were studied preoperatively and 6 months after the reconstruction. The functional results were excellent and good in 93% of patients. The improvement of maximal squeeze pressure and anal canal length were statistically significant.