Background: Management guidelines with regard to congenital pouch colon (CPC) are not clearly defined with regard to the type of pouch present. The aim of this study was to outline the management strategy and surgical approach to CPC using the Saxena-Mathur classification based on anatomical morphology of the pouch.
Methods: During a 12-year period (1995-2007), 426 patients were surgically managed for anorectal malformations at the RNT Medical College, Udaipur. Congenital pouch colon was documented in 80 patients and categorized into 5 types according the anatomical morphology. The management strategy depended upon the location of the pouch and its condition at the time of the surgery.
Results: In type 1 and type 2 CPC, a 1-stage (pouch excision and pull-through) or 3-stage procedure (ileostomy, pouch-coloplasty with pull-through, and ileostomy closure) was performed depending on the condition of the pouch (ischemic or healthy). In type 3 and type 4 CPC, a 3-stage procedure (pouch excision with colostomy, pull-through, and colostomy closure) was performed in all patients. In type 5 CPC, a 3-stage procedure (distal pouch excision with proximal pouch-coloplasty with ileostomy, pull-through, and colostomy closure) was successful.
Conclusion: Management of CPC patients according the Saxena-Mathur classification provides a well-defined algorithm in the surgical approach according to the anatomical morphology of the pouch.