Do you suffer from anal fistulas? Patient Information. FiLaC Minimally invasive laser therapy of anal fistulas

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1 Do you suffer from anal fistulas? Patient Information FiLaC Minimally invasive laser therapy of anal fistulas

2 What are anal fistulas and how do they arise? Simplified illustration of the rectum Intestine Sphincter Inner opening of the fistula Fistula tract Outer opening of the fistula A fistula is a non-natural tract which connects a hollow organ (e.g. the intestine) with the skin surface (e.g. at the buttocks) or another hollow organ. An anal fistula is a tract which connects the rectum and skin at the buttocks. Via the outer opening, pus and in particular cases even faeces can be discharged. It is supposed that anal fistulas spring from small anus glands. If they get infected, a pus-filled socket is built which opens up a way for discharge. Anal fistulas can also appear in the aftermath of radiotherapy.

3 How does the surgical treatment proceed? A proctologist can make a diagnosis with the help of a digital examination or an ultrasound. Medical specialists recognize the outer opening of a fistula already by simply observing the anal region. Nodes are felt on the inner opening of the rectum. Fistula tracts and nearby smaller abscesses can also be displayed well by the use of magnetic resonance imaging. Anal fistulas seldom heal up without surgery. Therefore surgical therapy is the treatment of choice. The inflammatory tissue then has to be cut away as completely as possible. The surgical technique adapted depends first of all on the route of the fistula. The (fistula) tract can either run under mucous membrane (by-passing the sphinkter muscle) or break through the sphinkter muscle partly or completely. In addition there are more seldom types of fistulas which have to be treated, in opposite to the above mentioned types, individually.

4 What happens during surgery? Usually, surgery takes place under spinal cord anaesthesia or general anaesthesia. Various procedures are available: Splitting of the fistula tract (fistulotomy) Cutting out the fistula and covering with a mucous membrane lappet According to fistula type and surgery technique, the continence of the treated individual can be affected negatively. This can constitute a social problem to a greater or lesser extent for the affected individual.

5 Muscle-sparing laser treatment with FiLaC * To treat anal fistulas as muscle-sparing as possible, now there is FiLaC laser therapy of the fistula tract. During laser therapy, defined energy will be led into the fistula tract with help of an innovative laser probe. By this, the fistula tissue will be destroyed in a most sparing way and has not to be tediously extracted during a complex surgery by a surgeon. The laser probe is slowly pulled back step by step like a zipper, and the fistula is being closed. The highly flexible probe is suitable for the application even in wound tracts and can be applied independently from the length of the fistula tract. FiLaC fibre laser treatment The laser treatment takes only a few minutes and provides the possibility to completely spare the enucleation of the fistula out of the healthy tissue. *FiLaC is the abbreviation of Fistula-tract Laser Closure, which means the closure of the anal fistula tract due to the use of a laser.

6 How does the laser treatment proceed? After insertion of the laser probe into the fistula tract, the laser destroys the fistula tissue and closes the tract. The treatment is virtually painless, and the period of recovery is tangibly shorter than for conventional surgical methods. FilaC fibre

7 Which advantages does FiLaC offer? FiLaC provides you and the attending physician the following advantages: Maximum sparing of the sphincter muscle and by that protection of continence No cutting out or fistulomoty of fistula tract necessary Faster tissue repair and by that faster return to normal activities Optional combinable with different methods of therapy Benefit from the sparing therapy method of anal fistula treatment. Ask your physician about the possibilities of treating fistulas via laser. Ask for FiLaC.

8 For further information on the treatment of anal fistulas or for a visit of a FiLaC therapy center please do not hesitate to contact us. biolitec biomedical technology GmbH Tel.: Fax: info@biolitec.de Proctology FiLaC Patient Info EN / Rev A /