Postoperative continence assessed by electromyography of the external sphincter in anorectal malformations.

Voluntary faecal continence after corrective surgery for anorectal malformations was assessed via electromyography (EMG) of the external sphincter muscle in 20 patients with anorectal malformations. Six normal children served as controls. Function of the external sphincter in patients with high type anomaly was disturbed from the points of tonic activity, inflation reflex, and activity during further rectal filling. Patients with a positive inflation reflex, regardless of the type of anorectal malformation, had good Kelly scores. Phasic activity was observed in patients with high-type anomaly, and in normal subjects and patients with other types of anomaly. Therefore, patients with high-type anomaly may acquire compensatory voluntary anal continence through training.