Devadhar's operation for complete rectal prolapse: 25 years' experience.

BACKGROUND Numerous abdominal and perineal operations have been described for the treatment of complete rectal prolapse. We describe our results with Devadhar's rectopexy, which avoids dissection in the presacral space and hence may be expected to have a low risk of sexual and urinary disturbances. METHODS Case records of 72 consecutive patients (40 men), aged above 18 years, with complete rectal prolapse who were treated with Devadhar's operation were reviewed. RESULTS The only complication observed was mucosal prolapse in 3 patients. None of the 40 men had erectile dysfunction or retrograde ejaculation after a median follow-up of 10 (range 3-48) months. No patient had disturbance in micturition. Two patients (2.7%) had recurrence of rectal prolapse. In four patients (8.5%), constipation persisted. CONCLUSION Devadhar's rectopexy for complete rectal prolapse was not associated with disturbances in sexual or micturition function, and low rates of recurrence of prolapse.