Medical Therapy: 1. Dry Fiber: take dry Metamucil or Citrucel, 2 tablets twice a day, and increasing up to 2 tablets four times per day. 2. Antidiarrheal Agents: even if you do not have diarrhea, you need to add these agents to the dry fiber. Options include kaopectate, Immodium, Lomotil (prescribed) or Tincture of Opium (prescribed). Take immodium 1 tablet twice a day, and increase up to 2 tab...

A 74-year old woman with a medical history of hypertension, diabetes, and urinary incontinence comes for an annual exam. She feels well, has no physical complaints, and has been healthy since her last visit. She reports her urinary incontinence has improved, but mentions that she sometimes has “accidents” with stool. Her obstetrical history is significant for 3 vaginal deliveries, one with a 3 ...

Risk Factor or Consequence of Poor Outcomes After Rehabilitation? To the Editor: We have read with interest the study written by Harari et al1 regarding the evolution of patients suffering from new-onset fecal incontinence after stroke. These authors observe the long-term fluctuating nature of such condition, the negative impact on mortality and institutionalization, as well as its narrow relat...

CONTEXT Although success rates are limited, anal sphincteroplasty is commonly used to treat women with fecal incontinence. OBJECTIVES To investigate the long-term efficacy of a novel surgical procedure-sphincteroplasty with perineal reconstruction-for the management of fecal incontinence. METHODS The current prospective study comprised women presenting to the Division of Urogynecology and R...

OBJECTIVE Functional constipation and fecal incontinence are common childhood gastrointestinal conditions. Both conditions may be associated with behavioral problems. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder of childhood, characterized by shortened attention span and hyperactivity. We hypothesize that a diagnosis of ADHD increases the risk for funct...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to characterize differences in health-related quality of life among women presenting for treatment of fecal incontinence. METHODS Among 155 women presenting for treatment of fecal incontinence in a specialty clinic, validated questionnaires measured impact on quality of life (Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire) and severity (the Fecal Incontinence Sever...

BACKGROUND Despite the surge of new medical and surgical approaches to treat fecal incontinence, the types of sphincter abnormalities in patients with incontinence have not been well characterized. We aimed to categorize anal sphincter dysfunction using anorectal manometry in patients with fecal incontinence as a potential guide for improved treatment. METHODS A retrospective review of 162 co...

OBJECTIVE To estimate obstetric risk factors of fecal incontinence among middle-aged women. METHODS We conducted a mail survey of the Gazel cohort of volunteers for epidemiologic research. In 2000, a questionnaire on anal incontinence was mailed to 3,114 women who were then between the ages of 50 and 61 years; 2,640 (85%) women returned the completed questionnaire. Fecal incontinence was defi...

OBJECTIVE To look at women who underwent overlapping anal sphincteroplasty (OAS) with the use of either permanent or absorbable sutures and to describe patient-reported fecal continence and quality of life. STUDY DESIGN A case series of 40 women who underwent OAS completed the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire a mean of 50 months after surgery. Descriptive statistics were used to descr...

Fecal incontinence is a major public health issue that has yet to be adequately addressed. Obstetric trauma and injury to the anal sphincter muscles are the most common cause of fecal incontinence. New therapies are emerging aimed at repair or regeneration of sphincter muscle and restoration of continence. While regenerative medicine offers an attractive option for fecal incontinence there are ...