Abstract
Of 84 patients who underwent restorative proctocolectomy with an ileoanal reservoir in 21 Italian departments of surgery, 51 had ulcerative colitis, 32 familial polyposis and 1 intractable constipation. Follow-up information is available for all 58 patients who had their ileostomy closed, the length of follow-up ranging between 2 and 78 months. There were no operative deaths. A failure rate (i.e. excision of the pouch) of 3 per cent was observed. Sepsis was the most common postoperative complication, and was most often related to ileoanal anastomosis dehiscence (15 per cent), followed by small-bowel obstruction requiring laparotomy (10 per cent). Clinical βpouchitisβ occurred in 14 per cent of patients after ileostomy closure. The average frequency of defaecation was four motions per 24 h; evacuation was spontaneous in all patients and only 5 per cent complained of troublesome faecal soiling while 34 per cent had occasional incontinence to flatus and mucus. Patients with a short or absent rectal cuff had a lower rate of incontinence (30 versus 48 per cent, difference not statistically significant) without any increase in the frequency of genito-urinary disorders. None of the two most used reservoirs, the J (n = 40) and S pouch (n = 17) showed significant superiority in terms of bowel frequency and continence. Incontinence was more likely in patients whose ileostomy closure had been delayed for more than one year.