Pleasurable and problematic receptive anal intercourse and diseases of the colon, rectum and anus.

The ability to experience pleasurable sexual activity is important for human health. Receptive anal intercourse (RAI) is a common, though frequently stigmatized, pleasurable sexual activity. Little is known about how diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus and their treatments affect RAI. Engaging in RAI with gastrointestinal disease can be difficult due to the unpredictability of symptoms and treatment-related toxic effects. Patients might experience sphincter hypertonicity, gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety, altered pelvic blood flow from structural disorders, decreased sensation from cancer-directed therapies or body image issues from stoma creation. These can result in problematic RAI - encompassing anodyspareunia (painful RAI), arousal dysfunction, orgasm dysfunction and decreased sexual desire. Therapeutic strategies for problematic RAI in patients living with gastrointestinal diseases and/or treatment-related dysfunction include pelvic floor muscle strengthening and stretching, psychological interventions, and restorative devices. Providing health-care professionals with a framework to discuss pleasurable RAI and diagnose problematic RAI can help improve patient outcomes. Normalizing RAI, affirming pleasure from RAI and acknowledging that the gastrointestinal system is involved in sexual pleasure, sexual function and sexual health will help transform the scientific paradigm of sexual health to one that is more just and equitable.

Intrarectal formalin treatment for haemorrhagic radiation-induced proctopathy: efficacy and safety.

AIM: Pelvic radiotherapy is limited by dose-dependent toxicity to surrounding organs. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intrarectal formalin treatment for radiotherapy-induced haemorrhagic proctopathy (RHP) at the Royal Marsden Hospital. METHOD: Adult patients were enrolled. Haemoglobin was evaluated before and after formalin treatment. Antiplatelet and/or anticoagulation treatment and administration of transfusion were recorded. The interval between completion of radiotherapy and the first intrarectal 5% formalin treatment was assessed and the dose of radiotherapy was evaluated. Clinical assessment of the frequency and amount of rectal bleeding (rectal bleeding score 1-6) and endoscopic appearance (grade 0-3) were classified. Complications were recorded. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were enrolled, comprising 13 men (68%) and 6 women. The mean age was 75 ± 9 years. The median time between completion of radiotherapy and the first treatment was 20 months [interquartile range (IQR) 15 months] and the median dose of radiotherapy was 68 Gy (IQR 14 Gy). Thirty-two procedures were performed (average 1.7 per patient). In total, 9/19 (47%) patients were receiving anticoagulation and/or antiplatelet medication and 5/19 (26%) received transfusion prior to treatment. The mean value of serum haemoglobin before the first treatment was 110 ± 18 g/L and afterwards it was 123 ± 16 g/L (p = 0.022). The median rectal bleeding score before the first treatment was 6 (IQR 0) and afterwards 2 (IQR 1-4; p < 0.001), while the median endoscopy score on the day of first treatment was 3 (IQR 0) compared with 1 (IQR 1-2) on the day of the last treatment 1 (p < 0.001). One female patient with a persistent rectal ulcer that eventually healed (18 months of healing) subsequently developed rectovaginal fistula (complication rate 1/19, 5%). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with intrarectal formalin in RHP is effective and safe.

Robotic Management of Recurrent Rectal Endometriosis After Previous Segmental Bowel Resection.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the management of recurrent bowel endometriosis after previous colorectal resection. DESIGN: Surgical video article. The local institutional board review was omitted due to the narration of surgical management. Patient consent was obtained. SETTING: A tertiary referral center. The patient first underwent segmental bowel resection for deep infiltrating endometriosis of the rectum in the ENDORE randomized controlled trial in 2012 and then received a total hysterectomy in 2018. Five years later, she presented with recurrent nodules in the rectovaginal, left parametrium, and abdominal wall after discontinuing medical suppressive treatment. INTERVENTION: Laparoscopic management using robotic assistance was employed to complete excision of the rectovaginal nodule. Disc excision was performed to remove rectal infiltration. The procedure started with rectal shaving and excision of vaginal infiltration . A traction stitch was placed over the limits of the rectal shaving area. The general surgeon placed a 28 mm circular anal stapler transanally and performed complete excision of the shaved rectal area. Anastomotic perfusion was checked with indocyanine green. A methylene blue enema test was conducted to rule out anastomotic leakage. Outcomes were favorable, with systematic self-catheterization during 5 postoperative weeks. No specific symptoms were related to the other 2 nodules, which were not removed. CONCLUSION: Rectal recurrences may occur long after colorectal resection and outside the limits of the previous surgery site. To accurately assess this risk, long-term follow-up of patients is mandatory.. Postoperative medical amenorrhea may play a role in recurrence prevention. Surgical management of recurrences may be challenging and focus on only those nodules responsible for symptoms so as to best preserve the organ's function and reduce postoperative morbidity.

Caracterización del tratamiento con plasma rico en plaquetas y leucocitos en la fisura anal secundaria / Characterization of the Treatment with Platelet-Rich Plasma and Leukocytes against Secondary Anal Fissure

Introducción: Las enfermedades benignas de recto son muy frecuentes en la práctica médica habitual en todos los niveles de atención de salud. Dentro de estos procesos se reconoce que la fisura anal es uno de los más comunes. Objetivo: Caracterizar a los pacientes tratados con plasma rico en plaquetas y leucocitos por fisura anal secundaria en la provincia Camagüey en el período comprendido entre septiembre del 2020 y septiembre del 2022. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio cuasiexperimental, cuyo universo lo conformaron los pacientes con el diagnóstico de fisura anal secundaria que asistieron a la consulta de Coloproctología del Hospital Provincial Docente Oncológico María Curie. Se estableció una muestra no probabilística a criterio de los autores conformada por 132 pacientes adultos, quienes recibieron tratamiento con plasma rico en plaquetas y leucocitos por fisura anal secundaria en la provincia Camagüey. Resultados: Con respecto al sexo y a la edad, se observó una mayor frecuencia del grupo de 40 a 49 años y predominó el sexo femenino. El síntoma de mayor frecuencia fue el dolor, mientras que en la etiología prevaleció la proctitis facticia. En la mayoría de los casos estudiados la fisura anal cicatrizó en menos de 15 días y en cuanto a la evaluación final del tratamiento solo la minoría empeoró. Conclusiones: La caracterización de la muestra en estudio permite afirmar que el tratamiento con plasma rico en plaquetas y leucocitos tiene beneficios para los pacientes con fistulas perianales y su calidad de vida(AU)

Introduction: Benign rectal diseases are very frequent in routine medical practice at all levels of health care. Among these processes, anal fissure is recognized as one of the most common. Objective: To characterize patients treated with platelet-rich plasma and leukocytes for secondary anal fissure in Camagüey Province between September 2020 and September 2022. Methods: A quasiexperimental study was carried out, whose universe was made up of patients with the diagnosis of secondary anal fissure who attended the coloproctology office at Hospital Provincial Docente Oncológico María Curie. A nonprobabilistic sample was established according to the authors' criterions, made up of 132 adult patients who received treatment with platelet-rich plasma and leukocytes for secondary anal fissure in Camagüey Province. Results: Regarding sex and age, a higher frequency was observed in the group 40 to 49 years old and the female sex was predominant. The most frequent symptom was pain, while the prevailing etiology was factitious proctitis. In most of the cases under study, the anal fissure healed in less than 15 days and, regarding the final assessment of the treatment, only the minority worsened. Conclusions: The characterization of the sample under study allows to affirm that treatment with platelet-rich plasma and leukocytes has benefits for patients with perianal fistulas and their quality of life(AU)

Complex perirectal abscess of urethral origin.

A 50-year-old male, with a medical history of Lynch syndrome and transurethral-resection (TUR) secondary to multifocal bladder tumour (pT1-high grade) with normal subsequent follow-ups, consulted for anal pain, rectal tenesmus and fever for 3 weeks. On examination, he presented perianal oedema and, on digital rectal examination, a right lateral orifice was palpable at 6cm from the anal margin. CT scan revealed a defect-in-continuity in the right rectal wall which communicated with bilateral perirectal collections extending towards the puborectalis-levator ani. On the right side, it extended towards the ischiorectal fossa and, on the left side it continued with another collection that displaced the corpus cavernosum. Urgent transanal debridement of abscess with biopsy and cultures was performed. Subsequent evolution was torpid. The clinical history was reviewed, as the patient had undergone repeated bladder catheterizations after TUR and BCG therapy one year before. Abdominal tomography with urethral contrast and cystourethrography were performed, which confirmed the presence of a fistula in the bulbomembranous urethra that communicated with the perirectal abscesses. Cultures and biopsies were negative for mycobacteria and malignancy was ruled out. A new surgical exploration was carried out, enlarging the transanal drainage orifice, making a temporary intestinal stoma and bladder catheterization. After eighteen weeks, the healing of the fistula was verified through of a new cystourethrography. Reconstruction of the intestinal transit has now been scheduled, after radiologically and endoscopically verifying the closure of the rectal orifice.

Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) after sphincter-sparing rectal cancer surgery. Incidence and risk factors.

BACKGROUNDS: Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) was defined with symptoms such as frequency, incontinence, urgency, and constipation in patients who underwent Sphincter-Sparing Rectum Surgery (SSRC). In this study, LARS rates and risk factors of the patients who underwent SSRC were Investigated. MATERIAL METHOD: The medical records of patients with SSRC at general surgery department were examined retrospectively. Clinical characteristics, neo/adjuvant chemo-radiotherapies, distal resection levels, open/laparoscopic procedures, postoperative complications, and pathological outcomes were recorded. LARS scoring system defined by Emmertsen and Laurberg was used to calculate LARS scores. RESULTS: The number of eligible patients was 129. The rectal resection was performed by either low anterior resection (LAR) or very low anterior resection (VLAR). VLAR was used to specify that had anastomosis <5cm to the anal verge. The median follow-up time was 12 (1-30) months. LARS were detected in 60 (%47) patients. LARS rates were significantly higher in the patients underwent VLAR (n: 35 9% vs. 48%<0,001). In univariate analysis, the level of distal resection, open surgeries, neoadjuvant RT, and diversion with temporary stoma were significantly different in LARS group. However, in multivariate analysis, distal resection level was the only significant risk factor for LARS. CONCLUSION: Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) was frequently seen in patients who underwent sphincter-sparing rectum surgery (SSRS). It was detected that distal resection levels were the most important risk factor for the development of LARS. This result showed that LARS should not be disregarded in patients underwent SSRS. KEY WORDS: Bowel Disfunction, Cancer, Incontinence, LARS, Rectum.

Solitary Rectal Ulcer Syndrome: A Rare and Often Misdiagnosed Cause of Rectal Bleeding in Children.

Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) is an uncommon benign rectal disorder. Typically, young adults are affected and it is rare in children. Straining during defecation, self-induced trauma and paradoxical contraction of puborectalis muscle are the major contributing factors of this condition. Clinical features of SRUS are rectal bleeding, mucorrhoea, excessive straining during defecation, tenesmus, feeling of incomplete defecation and constipation. A complete and thorough history is most important for diagnosis of SRUS. Rectal bleeding may be misinterpreted as originating from an anal fissure caused by constipation or as other causes of rectal bleeding such as a juvenile polyp. The best and most accurate diagnostic method of SRUS is rectal biopsy. The major histological feature of SRUS is fibromuscular obliteration of the lamina propria. Avoiding straining, regular toilet habit, use of bulk laxatives, steroid and sucralfate enemas are the mainstay of treatment. Biofeedback mechanism is another treatment option. Because the clinical presentation varies, the diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion for both the clinician and the pathologist.