This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

W. W. GLAS, M.D.

AMA Arch Surg. 1959;79(1):146-147.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Rectovaginal fistula following a combined radiological-surgical attack upon carcinoma of the endometrium or following radium therapy of the cervix is a complication of infrequent occurrence,¹ but of considerable significance. This complication is particularly unfortunate when the patient is cured of the carcinoma. It is generally agreed that rectovaginal fistulas are rare following treatment for carcinoma of the corpus. A technical error in irradiation or a posthysterectomy pelvic abscess is the most frequent cause of fistula following the treatment for carcinoma of the corpus. Rectovaginal fistula is a more frequent complication following treatment for carcinoma of the cervix, due to neoplastic invasion of the rectovaginal septum.

Many procedures have been described for the surgical treatment of this complication.^2,3 All of these procedures depend upon mobilization of intensely irradiated tissues which are fibrotic and extremely hard to dissect, in addition to which there is poor healing. Recurrences following surgical intervention . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Eloise, Mich.

From the Department of Surgery, Wayne County General Hospital.

Footnotes
Submitted for publication Dec. 15, 1958.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?