Laxative Dosage After Imperforate Anus Repair
Question: What's the best laxative dosage after surgery to repair an imperforate anus?
What's the best dosage of the different laxatives available following surgery to repair an imperforate anus?
Answer: The dosage of laxatives varies with the individual born with imperforat anus ... Work with your physician to determine the proper dosage.
The dosage of laxatives varies with the individual and needs to be adjusted by trial and error. Do not go by the instructions on the label if you are giving laxative medication to a patient born with imperforate anus. Work with your physician to determine the proper dosage.
Both constipation and diarrhea are enemies of children with anorectal malformations. Patients with liquid stools cannot feel the stool coming out through the rectum because they have an abnormal sensitivity in the anorectal area. Therefore, diarrhea may produce incontinence to a child with borderline bowel control.
Constipation, on the other hand, means retention of stool in the rectosigmoid, which leads to fecal impact and pseudo incontinence. This means that the patient behaves like being fecally incontinent, but when he is disimpacted and receives an adequate amount of laxatives he actually behaves like fecally continent child.
For more information or to request an appointment, please contact the Colorectal Center at Cincinnati Children's.
