SECCA procedure for anal incontinence and antibiotic treatment: a case report of anal abscess

BACKGROUND: Fecal Incontinence (FI) can seriously affect quality of life. The treatment of fecal incontinence starts conservatively but in case of failure, different surgical approaches may be proposed to the patient. Recently several not invasive approaches have been developed. One of these is the radiofrequency (RF) energy application to the internal anal sphincter. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a rare case of an anal abscess related to a SECCA procedure in a 66-year-old woman affected by gas and FI for twenty years. CONCLUSIONS: The complications post-SECCA procedure reported in literature are generally not serious and often self-limited, such as bleeding or anal pain. This is a case of an anal abscess. We suggest that this finding could consolidate the importance of administering antibiotic therapy to patients and to run a full course of at least 6 days rather than a short-term (24 h) therapy, with the aim to minimize the incidence of this complication.