Simple cutaneous advancement flap anoplasty for resistant chronic anal fissure: a prospective study.

Background: A proportion of patients with chronic anal fissure have persistent symptoms and pathology despite optimum conservative therapies. Lateral anal sphincterotomy, the standard surgical treatment, is associated with functional compromise in a minority of patients. Sphincter-sparing anoplasty has been advocated as an alternative procedure for those with "low pressure" sphincters.

Parastomal hernia: an exploration of the risk factors and the implications.

Risk may be defined as 'the chance that something may happen to cause loss or an adverse effect' (Concise Oxford Medical Dictionary, 2003). Patients undergoing stoma formation are at risk of developing a wide range of complications following surgery. A parastomal hernia is an adverse effect that can contribute to postoperative morbidity.