Rectal Prolapse: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment (original) (raw)

Will rectal prolapse go away on its own?

Not in adults. If rectal prolapse occurs in your child, it might go away after you treat the cause. For example, if your child has hard stools, diarrhea or a parasite infection, treating these conditions will relieve the stress on their pelvic floor muscles. The muscles will repair themselves as your child continues to grow. If you’re an adult, however, rectal prolapse won’t improve without surgery.

What happens if rectal prolapse is left untreated?

If it's not causing bothersome symptoms, you may be able to live for some time with rectal prolapse, taking care of it at home. Taking care of it means pushing your rectum back inside manually. Healthcare providers recommend that you lie on your side with your knees to your chest and use a wet, warm cloth to gently push your rectum back into place. However, prolapse will continue to worsen over time.

Untreated rectal prolapse can lead to several possible complications, including:

How do you fix rectal prolapse?

There are several surgical approaches to fixing rectal prolapse. Which procedure you have will depend on the specifics of your condition. For generally healthy adults, the first choice is usually a rectopexy, which is a procedure to repair your rectum through your abdomen. However, some people might not be good candidates for abdominal surgery. In these cases, rectal surgery is another option.

Abdominal approach (rectopexy)

This procedure restores your rectum to its original position in your pelvis. Your surgeon will attach your rectum to the back wall of your pelvis (your sacrum) with permanent stitches. They may also reinforce it with mesh. These will hold your rectum in place long enough for scar tissue to develop, which will hold it in place after that. Rectopexy has a 97% long-term success rate in fixing rectal prolapse.

Depending on the judgment and experience of your surgeon, you may have your rectopexy by either open abdominal surgery or minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery. Open surgery means opening up your abdominal cavity to access your organs. Laparoscopic surgery is done through small “keyhole” incisions, using a small camera, and is sometimes done with the use of a surgical robot. Both procedures are done under general anesthesia.

If you've had a history of chronic constipation, and if this was a contributing factor to your rectal prolapse, your surgeon may suggest a partial bowel resection at the time of your rectopexy. That means removing a section of your colon. Your surgeon can identify the part of your colon where difficulties with constipation tend to occur. Removing the problem section often improves bowel function afterward.

Rectal approach (perineal)

If abdominal surgery isn’t an ideal option for you, your surgeon may approach your rectal prolapse through your anus. Rectal surgery doesn’t always require general anesthesia as abdominal surgery does. Some people can have it with epidural anesthesia. The rectal or “perineal” approach may also be a better choice if you have a very minor prolapse, or if your rectum is stuck on the outside (incarcerated). There are two common procedures:

Altemeier procedure. In this procedure, your surgeon pulls the prolapsed rectum out through your anus and removes it. They may also remove the lower part of the colon (sigmoid colon) if it is involved in the prolapse (proctosigmoidectomy). Then they sew the two ends of your large intestine (your remaining colon and your anus) back together. The new end of your colon now becomes your new rectum.

This procedure is less invasive than open abdominal surgery and easier to recover from, but its disadvantage is that prolapse may recur afterward. One reason is that the new rectum made from your colon is not as strong as your original rectum was. Because of this, some surgeons combine the altemeier procedure with a “levatoroplasty” — tightening the pelvic floor muscles by sewing them closer together.

Delorme procedure. If you only have a mucosal prolapse, or a small external prolapse, your surgeon may choose a more minor procedure. The Delorme procedure only removes the prolapsed mucosal lining of your rectum. Your surgeon then folds back the muscle wall of the rectum onto itself and stitches it together inside your anal canal. The double muscle wall helps to reinforce the rectum.

What are the possible risks or complications of rectal prolapse surgery?

All surgeries come with a low risk of certain general complications, including:

Additional risks associated with rectal prolapse surgery include: