Total anorectal reconstruction results in complete anorectal sensory loss

Six patients underwent objective measurement of anorectal sensory function following abdominoperineal excision of the rectum and total anorectal reconstruction. No patient perceived neorectal distension as a desire to defaecate or as a feeling of flatus. Anal mucosal sensation was preserved in two patients in whom some anal mucosa was retained. These sensory deficiencies may result in faecal retention and incontinence in patients undergoing reconstructive surgery. The loss of rectal sensation suggests that the prime sensors of rectal filling may lie within the rectum itself.