Abstract:Objective To explore the clinical effect of ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (LIFT) combined with acellular extracellular matrix (AEM) tamponade in the treatment of transsphincteric fistula. Methods The clinical data of 66 patients with transsphincteric fistula who were admitted to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital between October 2013 and October 2016 were collected. All the patients were allocated into a treatment group (undergoing LIFT combined with AEM) and a control group (undergoing fistulotomy or incision-threaddrawing procedure) according to random number table, with 33 patients in each group. The main observation indices included wound healing time, anal incontinence scores before operation and at postoperative month 1, 3, 6 and 12, and total effective rate. The outpatient examination was conducted at postoperative month 1; questionnaires, outpatient examination and telephone interview were performed to detect wound healing, anal control ability and healing situation at postoperative month 3, 6 and 12. Results Of the 66 patients, 61 patients were screened out for eligibility including 31 patients in the treatment group and 30 patients in the control group, there was no occurrence of preoperative anal incontinence. In the control group 21 patients underwent fistulotomy and 9 patients received incision-thread-drawing procedure. Wound healing time in the treatment group was shorter than that in the control group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). There were no statistic differences in the preoperative anal incontinence scores between the two groups (P > 0.05), whereas the anal incontinence scores in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group at postoperative month 1, 3, 6 and 12 (P < 0.05). The total effective rates of the treatment group and the control group were 90.32% and 93.33% respectively, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions LIFT combined with AEM in the treatment of transsphincteric fistula has the same clinical effect as fistulotomy and incision-thread-drawing procedure, and has the advantages of sphincter-preserving, shorter wound healing time and better anal control ability, without the occurrence of anal incontinence.