The abdominal approach to rectal prolapse

Abstract

Numerous approaches have been described for the treatment of rectal prolapse. The two basic categories of operation are transabdominal and perineal. The former type tends to be more durable with lower recurrence rates but at the expense of higher morbidity. The latter group tends to be safer but is associated with higher recurrence rates and less functional recovery. More recently, the abdominal approaches have been modified to be laparoscopically accomplished in most cases. The indications for, technical details of, and results following these abdominal operations will be described and discussed. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Milan.