Chronic Anal Fissure: A Comparative Study of Medical Treatment Versus Surgical Sphincterotomy.

To determine whether the medical Treatment of anal fissure can be an effective alternative for surgery

Methods

Retrospectively, we randomly selected 190 Patients being treated for anal fissure between the years 2005-2010 in 3 equal groups: group A: Patients who received medical treatment with topical nitroglycerin, group B: Patient treated with topical diltiazem, and group C: Patients underwent surgery. The results were then correlated with the statistical program SPSS using chi-square test. Main complaints of the patients were first anal pain and then bleeding. The response to treatments for relieving pain was: 77% in A, 83% in B, and 98% in group C. Response of treatments for fissure healing, in order of groups A, B and C was: 74%, 83%, and 94%. Despite good response to medical treatment, surgical treatment was more effective and medical treatment of choice in patients who are willing to have surgery.