Effect of age, patient's sex, and type of trauma on the correlation between size of sphincter defect and anal pressures in posttraumatic fecal incontinence

Size of external anal sphincter defect correlates negatively with mean maximal squeeze and positively with symptoms score. This correlation is stronger in females, patients greater than 50 years, and patients with postfistulectomy or obstetric injuries. These findings suggest that this group of patients requires additional assessment before surgical repair.