Diagnostic and Therapeutic Norms
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World J Gastrointest Surg. Apr 27, 2022; 14(4): 271-275
Published online Apr 27, 2022. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v14.i4.271
Including video and novel parameter-height of penetration of external anal sphincter-in magnetic resonance imaging reporting of anal fistula
Pankaj Garg, Baljit Kaur, Vipul D Yagnik, Sushil Dawka
Pankaj Garg, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Garg Fistula Research Institute, Panchkula 134113, Haryana, India
Pankaj Garg, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Indus International Hospital, Mohali 140507, Punjab, India
Baljit Kaur, Department of Radiology, SSRD Magnetic Resonance Imaging Institute, Chandigarh 160011, Chandigarh, India
Vipul D Yagnik, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Nishtha Surgical Hospital and Research Center, Patan 384265, Gujarat, India
Sushil Dawka, Department of Surgery, SSR Medical College, Belle Rive 744101, Belle Rive, Mauritius
Author contributions: Garg P conceived and designed the study, collected, and analyzed the data, revised the data, finally approved and submitted the manuscript (Guarantor of the review); Kaur B and Yagnik VD collected, and analyzed the data, revised the data, finally approved and submitted the manuscript; Dawka S critically analyzed the data, reviewed and edited the manuscript, finally approved and submitted the manuscript
Conflict-of-interest statement: None for all the authors.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Pankaj Garg, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Garg Fistula Research Institute, 1043/15, Panchkula 134113, Haryana, India. drgargpankaj@gmail.com
Received: November 17, 2021
Peer-review started: November 17, 2021
First decision: December 27, 2021
Revised: December 28, 2021
Accepted: April 4, 2022
Article in press: April 4, 2022
Published online: April 27, 2022
Processing time: 157 Days and 20.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: There is loss of vital information when a fistula-in-ano magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) report from the radiologist is interpreted by the operating surgeon. To prevent this loss, a novel method is suggested: sending a small video highlighting vital fistula parameters along with the written MRI report. Also, another vital parameter is the amount of external sphincter involvement by the fistula. This parameter is not included in the MRI report and can be evaluated from the height of penetration of the external anal sphincter (HOPE) by the fistula. This parameter (HOPE) is distinct from the ‘height of internal opening’ and would help prevent damage to the external anal sphincter during surgery.