AIM To determine the accuracy and predictive value of transperineal (TPU) and endovaginal ultrasound (EVU) in the detection of anal sphincter defects in women with obstetric anal sphincter injuries and/or postpartum symptoms of faecal incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and sixty-five women were recruited, four women were excluded as they were seen years after their last delivery....

OBJECTIVE To use magnetic resonance images of living women and 3-dimensional modeling software to identify the component parts and characteristic features of the external anal sphincter (EAS) that have visible separation or varying origins and insertions. METHODS Detailed structural analysis of anal sphincter anatomy was performed on 3 pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data sets selecte...

BACKGROUND Long-term results after obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) are poor. We aimed to improve the long-term outcome after OASI by lessening symptoms of anal incontinence. METHODS In a prospective study at Malmö University Hospital, twenty-six women with at least grade 3B OASI were classified and sutured in a systematic way, including separate suturing of the internal and external sp...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between internal and external anal sphincter volumes and manometric anal pressures. STUDY DESIGN Ten healthy nulliparous women underwent anal sphincter magnetic resonance imaging and anal manometry measurement. A 3-dimensional reconstruction of magnetic resonance images was accomplished with the use of 3-dimensional slicer. Sph...

Pregnancy can affect the lower genitourinary tract through physiologic changes, or traumatic injury tissue stretching and tearing, besides neurologic and vascular compression and compromise, and muscle strain are inevitable during childbirth.The levator ani complex of the pubococcygeus, puborectalis, and iliococcygeus muscles must allow passage of the fetus. The perineal body and external anal ...

Electrical stimulation of sacral roots for electrodefecation results in simultaneous activation of the rectum and the external anal sphincter. The sphincter contraction hinders evacuation of the rectum. In this study anodal blocking has been used to reduce the activation of the external anal sphincter. Using a tripolar cuff electrode and monophasic rectangular current pulses in 7 acute minipigs...

In the C. e/egans hermaphrodite the expulsion step of defecation depends on the coordinated contraction of three enteric muscle groups: the anal depressor muscle, the intestinal muscles, and the sphincter muscle. These muscles are activated by excitatory GABA neurotransmission. Mutations in 13 genes that affect activation of these enteric muscles have previously been identified. We show that th...

Case report—A 41 year old woman was referred for assessment of worsening bladder and bowel dysfunction. At the age of 17 years she had suVered a traumatic fracturesubluxation of T12–L1 following a trampoline accident in which she fell heavily on to her back. She immediately lost sensation below the waist but this returned over several days. Following eight weeks of bed rest she gradually regain...