Objective To investigate the long‑term outcomes of laparoscopic ventral rectopexy (LVR) for obstructive defecation with overt pelvic structural abnormalities.

Methods The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of 31 obstructive defecation patients with overt pelvic structural abnormalities who were admitted to the Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from June 2014 to August 2020 were collected. There were 6 males and 25 females, aged 59(range, 32‒81)years. All 31 patients underwent LVR through transabdominal approach. Observation indicators: (1) the Cleveland clinic constipation score (CCCS); (2) severity of obstructive defecation; (3) patients assessment of constipation quality of life (PAC-QoL). Follow‑up was conducted using telephone interview and outpatient examination up to October 2021. One professional researcher assessed the constipation symptoms and quality of life of patients through outpatient interview or mobile software platform of Questionnaire Star. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison before and after operation was conducted using the Wilcoxon sign rank test.

Results (1) The CCCS. All 31 patients underwent LVR for the first time and were followed up for 61.8(range, 11.0‒87.0)months. The constipation symptoms of the 22 patients were improved. The CCCS of the 31 patients before surgery and at the last follow⁃up time were 15.8(range, 8.0‒26.0) and 10.7(range, 2.0‒20.0), respectively, showing a significant difference (Z=‒3.98, P<0.05). (2) Severity of obstructive defecation. The severity scores of frequency of bowel movements, difficult of bowel movements, sensation of incomplete defecation, abdominal distension or pain, time of each bowel movements, daily unsuccessful times of defecation, artificial assisted defecation for the 31 patients were 2.9(range, 1.0‒4.0), 3.0(range, 1.0‒4.0), 1.9(range, 0‒3.0), 0.5(range, 0‒3.0), 2.6(range, 2.0‒4.0), 2.0(range, 0‒4.0), 0.9 (range, 0‒2.0) before surgery, versus 1.7(range, 0‒4.0), 1.6(range, 0‒4.0), 1.2(range, 0‒4.0), 0.3(range, 0‒3.0), 1.7(range, 0‒3.0), 1.4(range, 0‒3.0), 0.7(range, 0‒2.0) after surgery, respectively. There were significant differences in the frequency of bowel movements, difficult of bowel movements, sensation of in-complete defecation, abdominal distension or pain, time of each bowel movements, daily unsuccessful times of defecation for the 31 patients before and after surgery (Z=‒3.38, ‒3.80, ‒2.54, ‒2.31, ‒3.64, ‒2.75, P<0.05) and there was no significant difference in the artificial assisted defecation for the 31 patients before and after surgery (Z=‒1.31, P>0.05). (3) PAC-QoL. The score of physical discomfort, satisfaction, worries and concerns, psychological discomfort for the 31 patients were 2.3(range, 1.0‒4.0), 3.2(range, 1.0‒4.8), 2.2(range, 0.6‒4.0), 1.8(range, 0.4‒3.9) before surgery, versus 1.6(range, 0‒4.0), 2.3(range, 0‒4.0), 1.7(range, 0‒4.0), 1.3(range, 0‒4.0)after surgery, respectively, showing significant differences before and after surgery (Z=‒3.49, ‒2.17, ‒2.50, ‒3.05, P<0.05).

Conclusions The long‑term outcomes of LVR for obstructive defecation with overt pelvic structural abnorma-lities are satisfactory. Symptoms as frequency of bowel movements, difficult of bowel movements, sensation of incomplete defecation, abdominal distension or pain, time of each bowel movements and daily unsuccessful times of defecation will be significantly improved after LVR and the constipation quality of life of patients will be improved.