What is an Anorectal Abscess and an Anorectal Fistula?
An anorectal (perirectal) abscess and an anorectal fistula have a common origin. The abscess is an acute problem and the fistula is a subsequent chronic problem. A fistula is an abnormal communication between the anal canal and the perianal skin. In 90% of cases of perirectal abscess, the source of the abscess is an infection occurring in glands which empty into the anal canal. Usually, no specific cause of this infection can be found and it is termed a cryptoglandular Infection. A cryptoglandular infection may occasionally be seen in association with a diarrheal illness, anal fissure, tuberculosis, Crohn s disease, and AIDS. Non-cryptoglandular infection (less than 10%) occurs secondary to trauma, a foreign body or cancer of the rectum. Rarely an intraabdominal source of infection may result in a perirectal abscess. A patient with a perirectal abscess presents to the surgeon with persistent rectal pain (unlike anal fissure in which the pain occurs following defecation), perirectal swe
