COMPLETE PROLAPSE OF RECTUM AND ITS TREATMENT.

COMPLETE PROLAPSE or procedentia of the rectum is best defined as a circumferential descent of the entire thickness of the rectal wall through the anus. The abnormal extrusion of the mucous membrane only is termed an incomplete or a mucosal prolapse and will be excluded from the discussion in this paper. Nearly four score operative procedures have been described for this distressing and frequently recurring condition, particularly at the two extremes of life and in the mentally defective. Although the entity has been attacked rationally from an anatomic basis, the results achieved, both immediate and particularly remote, leave much to be desired. Especially disheartening is the fact that even after an apparent anatomic success in controlling the protrusion of the herniating mass, the poor functional result often persists, if only worse in some cases. In order to lay down the principles of management of this disease, it is of paramount