Rectal Prolapse – NSFW

As in Marvin L. Corman’s book (Colon & Rectal Surgery) quotes:

Man should always strive to have his intestines relaxed all the days of his life and that bowel function should approximate diarrhea. This is a fundamental principle in medicine, that whenever the stool is withheld or is extruded with difficulty, grave illnesses result.

Maimonides: Mishneh Torah

Rectal prolapse (a.k.a. Procidentia) is one of the most fascinating surgical pathologies because its complexity in treatment. In 1912 Moschcowitz proposed an herniation of Douglas pouch as a cause for rectal prolapse. Another cause was proposed by Broden and Snellman with the help of defecography described a full thickness rectal intussusception.

Rectal prolapse is 6 times more common in females (as males) aged 50 years or older. Many of male patients has a past medical history of psychiatric disorders. Chronic or lifelong constipation with straining is present in more than 50% of patients.

Patients describe a mass or bulge that they have to push back in after defecation. Often, presentation of rectal prolapse can be dramatic when the prolapsed segment becomes incarcerated below the level of the anal sphincter as in this clinical case and emergency surgical therapy was indicated.

More than fifty types of procedures for repair rectal prolapse have been described, but the treatment is always surgical.