The effect of posterior colporrhaphy on anorectal function

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of posterior colporrhaphy on bowel symptoms.

Methods: Comprehensive pelvic floor data were collected prospectively for 60 women undergoing posterior colporrhaphy. The electronic Personal Assessment Questionnaire-Pelvic Floor (ePAQ-PF) was completed at initial assessment and 3-6 months post-operatively. The bowel dimension of ePAQ-PF computes domain scores for IBS, constipation, evacuation, continence and QoL on a scale of 0-100. Preoperative bowel domain scores were compared with post-operative scores (Student t test).

Results: Significant improvement was seen in bowel evacuation (42%), continence (37%) and bowel-related QoL (61%) scores. IBS score improved by 28%, but this did not reach significance. There was no significant change noted in constipation (0.5%). All individual symptoms relating to bowel evacuation and continence improved significantly other than painful evacuation and incontinence to solid stool.

Conclusions: Bowel evacuation and continence improve significantly 3-6 months following posterior colporrhaphy and are associated with parallel improvement in QoL.