Sphincter plastic for treatment of anal incontinence

Patients whose anal continence is disturbed on the basis of an endoanally proven defect of the internal and external sphincter musculature are ideal candidates for local muscle repair with the help of the overlap technique. Careful examinations from declared colon proctologic centers, using the usual preoperative examination procedures - endoanal ultrasound, manometry, pudendal latency time -, yielded partly contradictory statements to the expected postoperative result. According to the fact that very good results are reported from patients with a large sphincter defect, those with clearly disturbed pudendal latency time, higher age or with a rather long interval between injury and overlap sphincter plastic surgery, this operation method should be offered to all patients with endorectally proven muscular defect.