BOTULINUM TOXIN TYPE A AND LATERAL SUBCUTANEOUS SPHINCTEROTOMY FOR CHRONIC ANAL FISSURE WITH THE SPHINCTER SPASM. WHAT TO CHOOSE? (systematic literature review and meta-analysis)

INTRODUCTION: for the treatment of chronic anal fissure, various surgical techniques are used, the main difference between which is the method of eliminating the anal sphincter spasm. One of the most serious postoperative complications is the development of anal incontinence. To date, there are a number of methods for drug-induced relaxation of the internal sphincter, which can significantly reduce the risk of developing anal incontinence after surgery.
AIM: to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of botulinum toxin type A (BTA) and lateral subcutaneous sphincterotomy (LSS) in the treatment of chronic anal fissure with sphincter spasm.
METHODS: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 selected randomized clinical trials comparing the results of treatment of chronic anal fissure using BTA and LSS was performed. The results of treatment of 489 patients were analyzed with an assessment of the following indicators: the incidence of epithelization of fissures, postoperative complications, development of anal incontinence and the disease recurrence.
RESULTS: In the BTA group, the incidence of fissure epithelization is 0.88 times lower than in the LSS group (OR=0.12; CI=0.06;0.22; p<0.00001). There were no statistical differences in the rate of postoperative complications in both groups (OR=1.07; CI=0.50;2.30; p=0.85). The risk of developing postoperative anal incontinence is 0.86 times lower in the BTA group than in the LSS group (OR=0.14; CI=0.03;0.64; p=0.01). The risk of relapse after lateral subcutaneous sphincterotomy is 6.06 times lower than when using botulinum toxin type A (OR=6.06; CI=3.52;10.42; p<0.00001).
CONCLUSION The use of botulinum toxin type A in the treatment of chronic anal fissure reduces the risk of developing postoperative anal incontinence, but this method is significantly inferior to lateral subcutaneous sphincterotomy in terms of the rate of chronic anal fissure epithelization.

chronic anal fissure, lateral subcutaneous sphincterotomy, botulinum toxin type A, LIS, botox

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