PMID- 21831102
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120815
LR  - 20120403
IS  - 1463-1318 (Electronic)
IS  - 1462-8910 (Linking)
VI  - 14
IP  - 5
DP  - 2012 May
TI  - Managing fistula-in-ano with ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract 
      procedure: the Western Hospital experience.
PG  - 599-603
LID - 10.1111/j.1463-1318.2011.02723.x [doi]
AB  - AIM: To review the preliminary results of the ligation of the intersphincteric 
      fistula tract (LIFT) technique in treating complex anal fistulas at our hospital. 
      METHOD: Between March and November 2010, patients with cryptoglandular anal 
      fistulas were recruited prospectively from the colorectal clinic and treated 
      using the LIFT procedure. A database was set up to collect information on 
      demographics, past surgical treatments, fistula characteristics, MRI scan 
      results, operative data and follow-up findings. The primary end-point measured 
      was cure of the disease. The secondary end-point was the degree of postoperative 
      continence. Preoperative and postoperative incontinence rates were recorded using 
      Wexner's Incontinence Scale. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients (eight women and 17 
      men; median age, 40 years) underwent the LIFT procedure. Ten patients had 
      recurrent fistulas and previous fistula surgery. The median operating time was 39 
      min. No intraoperative complications were documented. The median follow-up 
      duration was 22 (3-43) weeks. Primary healing was observed in 17 (68.0%) patients 
      and the median healing time was 6 weeks; one wound remained incompletely healed. 
      Seven patients (28.0%) had disease recurrence presenting between 7 and 20 weeks 
      postoperatively. No patients reported any incontinence postoperatively. 
      CONCLUSION: The LIFT procedure has favourable healing rates with little or no 
      risk of incontinence. This operation is safe and easy to learn. The early results 
      from this pilot study show promise and affirm some of the findings of other 
      researchers. These results will suggest opportunities to conduct further 
      controlled studies comparing the LIFT procedure with standard therapies.
CI  - (c) 2011 The Authors. Colorectal Disease (c) 2011 The Association of Coloproctology 
      of Great Britain and Ireland.
FAU - Ooi, K
AU  - Ooi K
AD  - Colorectal Unit, Department of Surgery, Western Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, 
      Australia. kck_ooi@yahoo.com
FAU - Skinner, I
AU  - Skinner I
FAU - Croxford, M
AU  - Croxford M
FAU - Faragher, I
AU  - Faragher I
FAU - McLaughlin, S
AU  - McLaughlin S
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Colorectal Dis
JT  - Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of 
      Great Britain and Ireland
JID - 100883611
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Cutaneous Fistula/diagnosis/*therapy
MH  - Fecal Incontinence/etiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Follow-Up Studies
MH  - Humans
MH  - Ligation
MH  - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Organ Sparing Treatments/adverse effects/*methods
MH  - Pilot Projects
MH  - Rectal Fistula/diagnosis/*therapy
MH  - Recurrence
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Treatment Outcome
MH  - Young Adult
EDAT- 2011/08/13 06:00
MHDA- 2012/08/16 06:00
CRDT- 2011/08/12 06:00
PHST- 2011/08/12 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/08/13 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/08/16 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1111/j.1463-1318.2011.02723.x [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Colorectal Dis. 2012 May;14(5):599-603. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-1318.2011.02723.x.