Faculty Bibliography

There is a paucity of information examining quality of life (QOL) and functional results after anorectal surgery. We aim to prospectively evaluate postoperative QOL, pain, functional outcomes, and satisfaction for a large cohort of patients undergoing anorectal surgery. Data were prospectively accrued for consecutive patients undergoing anorectal operations from June 2009 to September 2010. Preoperative and postoperative electronic questionnaires were completed. QOL was evaluated by the European QOL index (EQ-5D) and functional results with the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index (FISI). Satisfaction was assessed: 1) Are you satisfied with surgery? 2) Would you recommend surgery to others? Responses were reported: 1 to 5 (1 = not at all; 5 = a lot). Pain was scored: 1 (no pain) to 10 (worst). One hundred ninety-five patients, 111 (56.9%) females, median age 44 years (range, 18 to 93 years), underwent anorectal surgery for abscess, condyloma, fissure, fistula, hemorrhoids, incontinence, pilonidal disease, pouch problems, tumors, and prolapse. Overall, pain improved significantly with improved QOL (P = 0.03). This correlated with overall postoperative satisfaction (92.4%). A total of 87.7 per cent of patients would recommend their surgery to others. The FISI was similar pre- and postoperatively (P = 0.18) and did not worsen postoperatively irrespective of surgical indication and procedure. Most patients were satisfied after anorectal surgery, which correlated with improved pain and QOL. Functional outcomes did not worsen. This will help counsel patients preoperatively and allay anxiety about postoperative function.

AIM: Restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) is the most common operation for chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC), as it provides excellent functional outcome. However, among patients with Crohn's disease (CD), RPC is generally not recommended, as outcome and long-term function may be poor. Our purpose was to compare matched cohorts of CD and CUC patients to determine whether there are differences in outcome or function. METHOD: We queried our prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent RPC from 1991 to 2008. We identified patients who underwent RPC for CD and compared them with a matched cohort of patients who underwent RPC for CUC. RESULTS: We identified 13 patients with CD (seven women, median age 34 years) and 39 patients with CUC (21 women, median age 35 years). The patients were well matched for gender, clinical and demographic variables. Seven patients (54%) with CD had proctitis, but none had perianal or ileal disease. There were four (30.8%) postoperative complications and no anastomotic leaks. The CD group experienced significantly fewer median daily bowel movements (P = 0.02), incontinence for liquids (P < 0.01) and pouchitis (P < 0.01). With a median follow up of 44 months, pouch excision rate was significantly higher in the Crohn's group (2 vs 0%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In patients with CD, RPC may result in fewer daily bowel movements, less liquid incontinence and a lower incidence of pouchitis compared with CUC patients who undergo RPC. However, risk of pouch loss is higher in patients with CD. Therefore, in properly selected patients with CD, RPC provides an acceptable long-term functional outcome.

PURPOSE: The majority of patients referred to a colorectal surgeon with anal complaints are told they have "hemorrhoids"; however, many of these patients have other anal pathology causing their symptoms. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of physicians for common anal pathology, stratified by specialty and experience. METHODS: Seven common benign anal pathologic conditions were selected (prolapsed internal hemorrhoid, thrombosed external hemorrhoid, abscess, fissure, fistula, condyloma acuminata, and full-thickness rectal prolapse). Prospectively accrued subjects included attending physicians, fellows, residents, and medical students. Subjects were shown images and asked to provide a written diagnosis. We prospectively evaluated the overall diagnostic accuracy and stratified accuracy across specialties and years of clinical experience. Medical students were the control group. RESULTS: There were 198 physicians and 216 medical students. Overall diagnostic accuracy for physicians was 53.5% and for controls was 21.9% (P < .001). Surgeons had the highest overall accuracy at 70.4%, whereas all of the other groups had an accuracy of <50%. Physicians correctly identified condylomata and rectal prolapse most frequently and hemorrhoidal conditions least frequently. All 7 conditions were correctly identified by 4.1% of subjects and all of the conditions were incorrectly diagnosed by 20.2%. There was no correlation between years of experience and diagnostic accuracy (P = NS). CONCLUSION: Diagnostic accuracy for common benign anal pathologic conditions was suboptimal across all clinical specialties. Although many specialties had a diagnostic accuracy that was significantly better than the control group, there was no association between years of experience and accuracy. Improved programs for physician education for these common conditions should be developed.

Inflammatory bowel disease is divided into 2 major disease entities: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is characterized by contiguous inflammation of the colorectal mucosa, always beginning in and involving the rectum and progressing for variable distances proximally within the colon. In ulcerative colitis, medical therapy, which is not curative, is directed at controlling symptoms and reducing the underlying inflammatory process. However, emergent or elective removal of the colon and rectum does cure the disease and also eliminates the possibility of developing a malignancy. Here we present the current surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis and issues in the management of ulcerative colitis. We discuss indications for surgical treatment, elective and emergent operative management, early and late complications of surgery, and functional results.