Boston Medical and Surgical Journal
1896, Volume 134, part 20, 485-487
Higgins, FA.
Imperforate rectum is the common name by which the various congenital defects of the anus and rectum, which result in obstruction of the bowels, are designated. The defect is rare if we take into consideration the whole number of births yearly, yet it is of sufficiently frequent occurrence to be seen occasionally by the surgeon and obstetrician.
A case is reported in which a baby with an imperforate rectum was found to have an obstruction due to a membranous diaphragm stretched across about two inches above the anal opening. The coccyx and part of the sacrum were removed to provide access. The anus was dilated; the diaphragm punctured from below; the opening stretched, and the wound sutured. The stricture was dilated every three or four days while the child remained in the hospital. The recovery was uneventful, he being discharged from the hospital on the eighteenth day. Now, at the age of four the boy is apparently perfectly well, with perfect control of the sphincter.