Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Overlap Anal Sphincter Repair for Fecal Incontinence Following Sphincter Injury

Objective Several techniques are used to repair the anal sphincter following injury. The aim of the present study is to comprehensively analyze the short- and long-term outcomes of overlap repair following anal sphincter injury. Methods A search was conducted in the PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus and Google Scholar databases between January 2000 and January 2020. Studies that described the outcomes that are specific to overlap sphincter repair for fecal incontinence with a minimum follow-up period of one year were selected. Results A total of 22 studies described the outcomes of overlap sphincter repair. However, 14 studies included other surgical techniques in addition to overlap repair, and were excluded from the analysis. Finally, data from 8 studies including 429 repairs were analyzed. All studies used at least one objective instrument; however, there was significant heterogeneity among them. Most patients were female (n = 407; 94.87%) and the mean age of the included individuals was 44.6 years. The majority of the procedures were performed due to obstetric injuries (n = 384; 89.51%). The eight included studies described long-term outcomes, and seven of them demonstrated statistically significant improvements regarding the continence; one study described poor outcomes in terms of overall continence. The long-term scores were significantly better compared with the preoperative scores. However, compared with the short-term scores, a statistically significant deterioration was noted in the long-term. Conclusion The majority of the studies described good long-term outcomes in terms of anal continence after overlap sphincter repair. However, further studies are needed to identify the factors associated with poor outcomes to assist in patient selection for overlap repair.