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Anorectal Malformations

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Pediatric Neurogastroenterology

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Abstract

Anorectal malformations (ARMs) encompass all hind gut tract defects and are a broad spectrum of malformations with heterogeneous functional prognosis, associated with 60% of cases with other malformations. Their prevalence is approximately 1/3000. Nearly, 30% of cases are well-identified syndromes. It is thus important that newborns suspected of ARM are referred to an expert center. Although the surgical treatments for ARM have been well-codified for many years, aiming to reproduce normal anatomy, mechanical defecation abnormalities remain a significant challenge. Postoperative multidisciplinary management and follow-up have an important place to keep these patients, if not fully continent, at least with socially acceptable levels of cleanliness. The place of supportive care is also fundamental. Accepting limitations in support and management, the development of therapeutic education programs can be of great value to help patients achieve independence. Even if disability generated by these defects is not visible, the impact on everyday life can be considerable. The lack of ARM adult specialists and patient isolation remain significant and require close collaboration between pediatric and adult teams to build programs of transition to adulthood and to better identify late sequelae.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Visceral and Urological Pediatric Surgery Department and National Reference Center for Anorectal malformations and rare pelvic anomalies MAREP, Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital, Paris, France

    Célia Crétolle

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  1. Célia Crétolle
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Correspondence to Célia Crétolle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Christophe Faure

  2. Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Liver Transplant, Queensland Children’s Hospital School of Medicine University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Nikhil Thapar

  3. Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA

    Carlo Di Lorenzo

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Crétolle, C. (2022). Anorectal Malformations. In: Faure, C., Thapar, N., Di Lorenzo, C. (eds) Pediatric Neurogastroenterology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15229-0_30

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