RECTUM AND ANAL INJURY

Overview

Introduction:
Rectal and anal injuries are not frequent causes of hospitalisation. However, if misdiagnosed, they can have fatal consequences. Patients with suspicion of rectal injury are referred to surgical units and it is a surgeon´s task to provide proper diagnosis and treatment though in many cases interdisciplinary collaboration is required.

Case study:
This section describes rectal injury in a 12 year old boy who fell on a sharp branch that penetrated through the rectum and urinary bladder up to the abdominal cavity. After diagnosis carried out with the cooperation of the surgeon and urologist, the patient received a twophase operation.

Discussion:
A precondition for the successful treatment of rectal injury is correct and early diagnosis along with adequate and careful surgical treatment carried out by an experienced team. This section analyses causes of injury and adequate treatment for each cause using, often essential interdisciplinary collaboration.

Conclusion:
Generally, rectal injuries require twophase operations: the first stage comprises careful examination of the abdominal cavity with correction of detected injuries and drainage and the second stage focuses on restoration of gastrointestinal tract integrity.

Key words:
rectum injury, diagnostics and treatment.