PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS OF THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE SPHINCTER COMPLEX IN THE TREATMENT OF RECTAL FISTULAS

Introduction. Preoperative determination of the functional state of the sphincter apparatus of the rectum is an important part of the treatment of patients. Assessment and analysis of the functional viability of the anal sphincter are necessary for the choice of tactics for surgical correction of rectal fistulas. This approach makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of a specific surgical method and determine the degree of sphincter insufficiency in the postoperative period. The aim of the study: to assess the normative values of neurophysiologicsl parameters of the sphincter apparatus of the rectum and pelvic floor muscles by using the method of electrosphincteromyography. Materials and methods. The study included 93 patients who were treated in the surgical department of the Kharkiv Regional Hospital for rectal fistulas. Indicators of the contractile function of the sphincter apparatus were determined by the method of interference electrosphincteromyography in the preoperative period. The comparison group consisted of 28 volunteers who did not have rectal diseases associated with impaired intestinal retention function (0 points on the Wexner incontinence scale). Results. The standard values of the bioelectrical activity of the sphincter apparatus were obtained by examining a group of volunteers by the method of interference electrosphincteromyography. The analysis of the results obtained demonstrates a slight decrease in the initial indicators of the bioelectric activity of the sphincter complex in the postoperative period. Conclusions. Minimally invasive methods of surgical treatment of rectal fistulas are preferred, because during the study, patients showed a decrease in the initial parameters of the contractile viability of the anal sphincter.

A Combined Technology to Protect the Anatomic Integrity of Distal Urethral Sphincter Complex in Radical Prostatectomy Improves Early Urinary Continence Recovery Without Sacrifice of Oncological Outcomes

PurposeOur primary aim was to present a combined technique to protect the anatomic integrity of distal urethral sphincter complex (DUSC) during minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (RP) and discuss its impact on urinary continence (UC) recovery. The second aim was to define the learning curve of the combined technique.MethodsWe conducted a non-randomized retrospective study. There were 314 consecutive patients who received RP by the same urologist surgeon with more than 2,000 prior cases in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital between March 2017 and April 2020. Included in this study were 263 patients with clinical T1–T2 stage. We modified a combined RP (Comb-RP) technique including endopelvic fascia no-incising technique, dorsal venous complex (DVC) no-ligation technique, intrafascial dissection technique, and anterior reconstruction technique so as to preserve the anatomic integrity of DUSC. The patients were assigned to two groups: a Comb-RP group and a conventional RP (Conv-RP) group. Continence rates were assessed every 3 months after removal of the catheter. UC was defined as 0 pad per day. Peri-operative variables of the patient including operation time, estimated blood lost (EBL), positive surgical margin (PSM), and postoperative complications were also collected. Scatter-graphs of learning curves were drawn using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS).ResultsRP was accomplished smoothly in all 263 cases. The pad-free UC rates in Conv-RP group and Comb-RP group were 17.3 vs. 27.8% (P = 0.048) at the removal of the catheter, 35.8 vs. 50.0% (P = 0.027) at 1 month, 60.5 vs. 76.1% (P = 0.012) at 3 months, 87.7 vs. 96.5% (P = 0.022) at 6 months, and 94.7 vs. 97.7% (P = 0.343) at 12 months. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed significantly higher and faster continence recovery in the Comb-RP group (mean 4.9 vs. 2.6 months, Log Rank P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in PSM rate between the Comb-RP and Conv-RP group (31.1 vs. 31.2%, P =0.986). The learning curves of peri-operative variables, oncological and functional outcomes achieved the lowest point or plateau at the 20th–60th cases.ConclusionsThe anatomic integrity and intact pelvic floor interplay of DUSC is important for its function. Our combined technique was a safe and feasible technique for improving early UC in RP with no significantly increased PSM rate and no significant difference in long-term UC.

The effect of vaginal delivery and Caesarean section on the anal Sphincter complex of Primipara based on optimized three-dimensional ultrasound image and nuclear regression Reconstruction Algorithm

Objective: The study used the optimized nuclear regression reconstruction algorithm to explore the value of three-dimensional perineal ultrasound evaluation of the effect of caesarean delivery and caesarean section on the anal sphincter complex of primipara. Methods: This study performed three-dimensional perineal ultrasound scanning of the anal sphincter complex of 157 primiparas 42 days after delivery. Among them, 77 were in caesarean delivery (spontaneous delivery group) and 80 were in caesarean section (caesarean delivery group) from September 2018 to December 2020 in our hospital. The thickness of the end plane, the middle plane, the distal plane and the distal plane of the external anal sphincter at 3, 6, 9, 12 o’clock direction, and measure the thickness of the central plane of the pubic rectum muscle at 4, 8 o’clock direction. At the same time, the study used tomography and volume contrast imaging to observe the morphology and integrity of the anal sphincter complex. Results: The thickness of the distal anal sphincter at the 12 o’clock direction, the proximal anal sphincter at 6, 12 o’clock, and the central plane at 9 and 12 o’clock in the obstetric group were smaller than those in the caesarean section group (all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the thickness of the remaining anal internal and external anal sphincter and puborectalis muscles between the two groups in different directions (all P>0.05). In the obstetric group, a perineal sphincter defect was found via three-dimensional perineal ultrasound. Conclusion: The delivery method has a certain influence on the shape of the anal sphincter complex. The thickness of the internal and external anal sphincter of the primiparous women in a certain direction is significantly smaller than that of caesarean section. Transperineally three-dimensional ultrasound can clearly show the morphological characteristics and integrity of the anal sphincter complex, and diagnose the defect of the anal sphincter complex. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.6-WIT.4859 How to cite this:He N, Shi L. The effect of vaginal delivery and Caesarean section on the anal Sphincter complex of Primipara based on optimized three-dimensional ultrasound image and nuclear regression Reconstruction Algorithm. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(6):1641-1646. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.6-WIT.4859 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Anus perinei ventralis in adulthood – case report

Anorectal malformations present a type of the most serious congenital malformations, either in terms of treatment or treatment outcomes. Anorectal atresia can be subdivided into three categories: the supralevator form, the intermediate type of atresia and the low translevator type. One of the clinical forms of low translevator type in girls is a perineal fistula opening just behind the vaginal entrance on the perineum, with a fully developed sphincter complex dorsally from the fistula (so called anus perinei ventralis). The golden standard of surgical treatment of anus perinei ventralis in children is Peña’s procedure, which was used as a guideline for anorectal reconstruction in our adult patient, as well.

Diffusion tensor-based fiber tracking of the male urethral sphincter complex in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy: a feasibility study

Objectives To study the diffusion tensor-based fiber tracking feasibility to access the male urethral sphincter complex of patients with prostate cancer undergoing Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RS-RARP). Methods Twenty-eight patients (median age of 64.5 years old) underwent 3 T multiparametric-MRI of the prostate, including an additional echo-planar diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequence, using 15 diffusion-encoding directions and a b value = 600 s/mm2. Acquisition parameters, together with patient motion and eddy currents corrections, were evaluated. The proximal and distal sphincters, and membranous urethra were reconstructed using the deterministic fiber assignment by continuous tracking (FACT) algorithm, optimizing fiber tracking parameters. Tract length and density, fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were computed. Regional differences between structures were accessed by ANOVA, or nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test, and post-hoc tests were employed, respectively, TukeyHSD or Dunn’s. Results The structures of the male urethral sphincter complex were clearly depicted by fiber tractography using optimized acquisition and fiber tracking parameters. The use of eddy currents and subject motion corrections did not yield statistically significant differences on the reported DTI metrics. Regional differences were found between all structures studied among patients, suggesting a quantitative differentiation on the structures based on DTI metrics. Conclusions The current study demonstrates the technical feasibility of the proposed methodology, to study in a preoperative setting the male urethral sphincter complex of prostate cancer patients candidates for surgical treatment. These findings may play a role on a more accurate prediction of the RS-RARP post-surgical urinary continence recovery rate.