Long-term outcome after free autogenous muscle transplantation for anal incontinence in children with anorectal malformations

Purpose: Patients with high anorectal anomalies are often incontinent after reconstruction, particularly with the older forms of surgical treatment, that is, anorectal pull-through or Stephen's operations. In 1974, a new treatment for anal incontinence in children was introduced at the Akademiska Hospital: free autogenous muscle transplantation (FAMT) to the perirectal area. All the patients receiving FAMT were totally incontinent before the procedure and had no rectal sensitivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term functional outcome of this procedure. Methods: Twenty-two patients (17 males) operated on with FAMT below the age of 15 years were identified through records. One of the patients had died, and 2 were not available for follow-up. The remaining 19 were sent a validated bowel function questionnaire, and 15 (78.9%) of 19 patients responded (12 males). These 15 patients were compared with 15 patients with the same sex, age, and a similar malformation from our patient database. Results: At follow-up, after an average of 30 years postoperatively, 2 of 15 patients with FAMT had a stoma compared with 3 of 15 in the control group. The Miller incontinence score had a mean of 6.2 (median, 6; range, 0-15) in the FAMT group and 3.7 (median, 4; range, 0-12) in the control group. All patients in both groups could sense stool, and 11 of 13 patients in the FAMT group could distinguish between feces and flatus. Conclusions: The patients with FAMT had a slightly inferior anorectal function compared with the controls. Considering they were all totally incontinent before FAMT, we conclude that FAMT has an acceptable effect 30 years postoperatively. Therefore, we find that FAMT could be an alternative for anorectal malformation patients who are totally incontinent. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.