Stubborn rectal prolapse in systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune connective tissue disorder. Anorectal involvement might typically cause fecal incontinence and rarely rectal prolapse. Here we report three female patients, who were admitted with a mean history of 10 years suffering from SSc. All patients presented with the initial symptom of anal incontinence, in all cases this was associated with rectal intussusception or rectal prolapse. The three women faced prolapse recurrence, independent of the initial procedure. After surgical removal of the prolapse, the incontinence remained. In SSc rectal prolapse syndrome might occur at an earlier age, and a primary prolapse of the ventral aspect of the rectal wall seems to be typical for this disease. If patients with prior diagnosis of SSc appear with third degree of fecal incontinence, it is suspected to be associated with rectal prolapse. The prolapse recurrence rate after surgery in SSc patients is high.