Anal Fissure: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment (Public Health in the 21st Century)

The presence of an anal fissure is reliably associated with an elevated intra-anal pressure and decreased blood flow to the anoderm. Symptoms include pain, bleeding, pruritus and soiling. Greater than 90 per cent of acute anal fissures are of short duration and heal spontaneously or with simple measures. A high-fibre diet with an increased intake of water is recommended, laxatives may be used when required to soften constipated stool and warm sitz baths may offer symptomatic relief. Acute fissures that fail to heal become chronic fissures, which have traditionally been treated by surgery. This book presents and discusses recent developments on anal fissure conservative medical and surgical treatment, as well as the management of surgical complications. The presence of an anal fissure is reliably associated with an elevated intra-anal pressure and decreased blood flow to the anoderm. Symptoms include pain, bleeding, pruritus and soiling. Greater than 90% of acute anal fissures are of short duration and heal spontaneously or with simple measures. A high-fiber diet with an increased intake of water is recommended, laxatives may be used when required to soften constipated stool and warm sitz baths may offer symptomatic relief. Acute fissures that fail to heal become chronic fissures, which have traditionally been treated by surgery. This new book presents and discusses recent developments on anal fissure conservative medical and surgical treatment, as well as the management of surgical complications. Anal canal : anatomy, physiopathology and diagnosis / Michele Grande Chemical sphincterotomy / Giovanni Milito, Federica Cadeddu Botulinum toxin and anal fissure / Oliver Jones Current surgical management / Herand Abcarian and Jason W. Allen Postoperative complications after treatment for chronic anal fissure / Federica Cadeddu Anal fissure : treatment options in particular cases / Stefano D'Ugo ... [et al.] Conservative and surgical treatment of chronic anal fissure : longer-term results from our prospective database / Pierpaolo Sileri ... [et al.].