Elsevier

Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery

Volume 5, Issue 2, March–April 2001, Pages 158-161
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery

Fibrin glue for all anal fistulas

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1091-255X(01)80028-7Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if a new sphincter muscle—sparing technique that uses fibrin glue was effective in closing all types of anal fistulas. All patients with anal fistulas who were seen by a single surgeon over a 2-year period were treated with fibrin glue. Six to 8 weeks after a seton was placed in the fistula tract, either autologous fibrin glue or commercially available fibrin sealant was used to close the fistula tract. Twenty patients were treated with a mean follow-up of 10 months. Etiology of the anal fistulas was as follows: cryptoglandular in 13, Crohn's disease in four, and miscellaneous in three. Fibrin glue closure of the anal fistula was successful initially in 15 patients (75%) and was successful after a second treatment in two additional patients, for an overall fibrin glue fistula closure rate of 85% (17 of 20). Functional results have remained excellent with no patient reporting any change in continence after treatment. Fibrin glue is simple and effective treatment for all anal fistulas with excellent functional results.

Keywords

Anal fistula
fibrin glue
Crohn's disease

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Presented at the Forty-First Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, San Diego, Calif., May 21–24, 2000.

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