Case Report


Complex recto-vaginal fistula following prolonged obstructed labor treated successfully by colo-anal pull-through: A case report

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1 Consultant General Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

2 Associate Professor Obstetric and Gynaecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, Ebonyi State University, Nigeria

3 Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Head, Department of Surgery, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

4 Consultant Surgeon, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

5 Consultant Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria

Address correspondence to:

Uche Emmanuel Eni

Department of Surgery, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State,

Nigeria

Message to Corresponding Author


Article ID: 101276Z01UE2021

doi: 10.5348/101276Z01UE2021CR

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How to cite this article

Eni UE, Obuna JA, Olisa F, Aja AO, Otuu O, Orji MO. Complex recto-vaginal fistula following prolonged obstructed labor treated successfully by colo-anal pull-through: A case report. Int J Case Rep Images 2021;12:101276Z01UE2021.

ABSTRACT


Introduction: Recto-vaginal fistulas (RVF) are abnormal epithelial-lined connections between the rectum and the vagina, allowing bowel gas and feces to leak through the vagina. Recto-vaginal fistula has a devastating effect on the quality of life of the patient due to the embarrassing and irritating symptoms. The management is also quite challenging because of the high failure rate after repair. It most commonly occurs as a complication of prolonged obstructed labor in low income countries, among other etiologic factors.

Case Report: We present a case of recurrent complex RVF following prolonged obstructed labor that was treated successfully by an uncommon technique of colo-anal pull-through.

Conclusion: Colo-anal pull-through is a viable option for the surgical treatment of a difficult RVF.

Keywords: Colo-anal pull-through, Complex recto-vaginal fistula, Quality of life

SUPPORTING INFORMATION


Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Boladuro Emmanuel Olawale for his artistic representation of our colo-anal pull-through procedure in a diagram.

Author Contributions

Uche Emmanuel Eni - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Johnson Akuma Obuna - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Fabian Olisa - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Akputa Obasi Aja - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Onyeyirichi Otuu - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Michael Okoh Orji - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Guarantor of Submission

The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.

Source of Support

None

Consent Statement

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.

Data Availability

All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Conflict of Interest

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Copyright

© 2021 Uche Emmanuel Eni et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.