Conclusion
Most long-standing rectal abscesses, difficult to diagnose, are situated in the intermuscular space between the internal and external sphincter muscles. They originate high in an infectious process, extending through the anal ducts and terminating in the glands above the anorectal ring. Treatment is not difficult, but may be tedious. Internal sphincterotomy, which in reality is a fistulostomy, is the procedure of choice and provides for adequate drainage.
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References
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Read at the meeting of the American Proctologic Society, Miami Beach, Florida, April 30 to May 3, 1962.
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McElwain, J.W., Alexander, R.M. & MacLean, M.D. High intermuscular abscess. Dis Colon Rectum 6, 301–304 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02617270
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02617270