I recently posted about a boy with a rectal prolapse caused by his attempt to manage the pain of a large bladder stone. I realize many of our readers don’t know what a rectal prolapse is. It’s not pretty, that’s for sure, but I deal with them fairly often at our hospital. Here’s a good example of a case that illustrates the how much relief can be given to a patient by correcting this condition.
A 45 year-old man presented to the hospital with a long-standing history of intermittent rectal prolapse which had acutely become much worse and was not reducing (returning back inside the anus). The longer the rectum remains outside the anus, the more edematous or swollen it becomes. It bleeds easily and makes it impossible to sit down. Eventually, it causes intestinal obstruction. By the time the patient came to the hospital, it was beyond conservative measures and necessitated an operative solution.
The operation to fix the rectal prolapse was all performed from the perineum through the anus. The part of the rectum and colon that was prolapsing out of the anus was removed. The colon that remained was then pulled down and sutured to the anus with the sphincter muscles left intact.
Chronic constipation and straining were likely the root cause of the prolapse. He still had to learn to change life-style and dietary habits in order to keep from becoming constipated again. All that said, the patient was much relieved after the operation!