ABSTRACT
Fecal incontinence is a potentially debilitating condition that can have devastating consequences on both the physical and psychosocial well-being of afflicted individuals. Cross-sectional surveys of adult subjects fromthe general community have reported a prevalence of between 0.9 and 15 percent, with increasing prevalence with age, female sex, and obstetric injury. Most patients are treated by conservative measures, but selected individuals can benefit from traditional surgical procedures, such as sphincteroplasty, postanal repair, or transposition myoplasty. However, results have not always been favorable or consistent, and patients failing such interventions are often relegated to suffering lifelong fecal incontinence or to live with the morbidity of a permanent colostomy. In 1987, Jon Christiansen from Denmark first described the use of an artificial perianal sphincter (AMS 800™; American Medical Systems, Minnetonka, MN, USA), which was adapted from the artificial urological sphinter (AUS). Subsequent design modifications led to the development of the Acticon™ Neosphincter (by AMS), designed specifically for anal incontinence. The first implantation was performed in Nantes, France in May 1996. Since then, more than 60 cases have been performed in our center, with more than 500 cases already performed worldwide.
