Rectal Prolapse: Abdominal Procedures

Rectal prolapse is the full thickness intussusception of the rectal wall with protrusion out of the anus.  It is a benign condition associated with multiple anatomic abnormalities such as a redundant sigmoid colon, attenuation of sacral attachments, diastasis of the levators, a patulous anus, and a deep cul-de-sac.  It often presents with concomitant symptoms of fecal incontinence and constipation, or both.  In this review, we will discuss widely accepted abdominal procedures for the repair of rectal prolapse as well as advances in the arena.  Pre-operative evaluation, management and planning as well as perineal procedures are discussed in a separate review. This review contains 9 figures, 1 table, and 44 references.  Key Words:  Rectal prolapse, abdominal procedures, resection, rectopexy, mesh, laparoscopic, robotic