Surgical correction of recurrent rectal prolapse by colopexy in cats

Abstract

Colopexy is a surgical procedure to treat recurrent rectal prolapse, in which the colon is attached to the abdominal wall commonly used in dogs and cats. Three surgical techniques were designed to treat rectal prolapse; perianal purse-string suture, colopexy, and rectal resection in our experiment. Purse-string sutures were often unsuccessful unless the condition causing the problem was readily treatable. In colopexy, permanent fibrous adhesion was occurred and recurrent rectal prolapse was maintained. Rectal resection had several postoperative complications, such as stricture formation, incontinence, and dehiscence which were life-threatening. Therefore, colopexy was selected as the final option to correct rectal prolapse, especially in recurrent cases. It was evaluated on four clinical cases of cat suffering from recurrent rectal prolapse admitted in Shahedul Alam Quadary Teaching Veterinary Hospital (SAQTVH), CVASU. Three of them were suffering from constipation, and one had diarrhea for several days with rectal prolapse. Two different colopexy techniques were used to appose the edges of incised colon and abdominal wall. Continuous suture technique was used in two cats and simple interrupted suture technique was used in another two cats. Follow-ups were made weekly on schedule for six months postoperatively, where the cats were totally normal and healthy. Colopexy, using either surgical technique described here, was very much effective in preventing recurrent rectal prolapse.