PUNE: Shantanu, a software professional, felt excruciating pain in his lower abdomen one night while working. He ran into the bathroom, hoping for some relief. But to his surprise, he noticed something unusual. Part of his rectum had prolapsed and slipped out of his anus. He was scared and didn’t know what was going on, so he started changing his diet and kept delaying treatment thinking it would heal on its own. As the weeks turned into months, Shantanu, 44, realized that working night shifts was taking a toll on his health. Irregular sleep patterns, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy eating habits were beginning to affect him. He began experiencing digestive problems, especially chronic constipation. The constant straining during his bowel movements further worsened his condition, known as rectal prolapse. “Every time I used the toilet, about 12cm of my rectum slipped out of my anus. Fearing the effects of the anal surgery, I tried home remedies and alternative treatments,” Shantanu said. The combination of chronic constipation and the strain of defecating weakened the muscles and ligaments that support the rectum, causing the rectum to protrude outside the anus. It has been more than two years since Shantanu underwent the innovative minimally invasive surgery at a hospital in the city. “Chronic constipation and rectal prolapse disappeared after surgery,” he said. Shantanu participated in an observational study that followed over 24 months long-term follow-up of 91 patients with rectal prolapse who underwent surgery using a minimally invasive approach. These patients were from India, with a small number of patients coming from Western countries as well. “This study shows that our minimally invasive technique, transanorectal prolapse resection with a circular stapler (TRRPCS), is an innovative approach to effectively address rectal prolapse and its associated functional problems. “We are able to heal patients without causing bowel and anal incontinence, which is a known postoperative complication,” said colorectal surgeon and founder and director of Healing Hands Clinic. said Dr. Schwinn Porwal. The study was published in June 2023 in the World Journal of Colorectal Surgery. “This is the largest published case series of 91 patients with a minimum of two years of long-term follow-up,” said Dr. Porwal, the study’s principal investigator. Other surgeons co-investigating the study were Dr. Paresh Gandhi and Dr. Deepak Kulkarni. “Various surgical treatments for rectal prolapse have been attempted in the past, but they have failed with unsatisfactory results.” We conducted this study to evaluate,” Dr. Porwal said. Compared to other surgical treatments, this procedure is minimally invasive. Moreover, the treatment can be performed on patients of any age group, he added. Dr Girish Hatarkal, a Mumbai-based colorectal surgeon, said, “We have started the TRRPCS technique and the results are promising.”
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