ABSTRACT
While multiple approaches and operations have been devised over the years for the treatment of rectal prolapse, it is generally accepted that the abdominal approach has a lower recurrence and improved function when compared with the perineal repairs. However, as the abdominal approach is more physiologically demanding for the patient, this requires careful selection of patient suitability for a major abdominal procedure. Laparoscopy is less invasive than traditional open abdominal repair and so may extend the suitability of abdominal approach to the more elderly and debilitated patients that would otherwise have been deemed only suitable for a perineal approach.
