patient brochure

Do you suffer from
anal fistulas ?
Patient Information
FiLaC®
Minimally invasive laser therapy
of anal fistulas
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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®.
biolitec biomedical technology GmbH
Tel.: +49 3641 51953 0
Fax: +49 3641 51953 33
[email protected]
www.biolitec.com
Proctology FiLaC Patient Info EN / 421310000 Rev A / 03.2014
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.