THE ROLE OF DEFECOGRAPHY IN THE EXAMINATION OF PELVIC FLOOR DISEASES IN WOMEN

Abstract

The article presents information about the role of the radiological method of defecography in identifying pathologies of the rectum. 60 middle-aged and older women (range: 47-82 years) were studied over a 5-year period (2016-2021). These women complained of defecation problems and/or pelvic pain. During the examination, no pathology was detected in 16 patients and these patients were included in the control group, and in 44 patients various pathologies of the rectum were observed. Defecography revealed rectal prolapse in 22 patients (50.0%), rectocele in 42 (95.4%), intussusception in 37 (84.1%), and enterocele in 8 (18.2%). In 8 patients, only one anomaly was detected: 7 of them were rectoceles and one patient had perineal prolapse. In 36 women, several pathologies were simultaneously detected. At the same time, all anomalies were detected in only one woman. Thus, defecography is a cost-effective procedure, easy to perform and conveniently used in any hospital equipped with an X-ray room. This method has the highest accuracy in diagnosing rectal intussusception, prolapse, rectocele and enterocele.