Fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence may be due to various pathologies and is underreported. The prevalence among females is age dependent, ranging from 16% in younger women and up to 40% in elderly women. Given this wide range, it is suspected there may be a high rate of undetected and / or underreported cases. The most common aetiology is pelvic floor disorders which is the focus of this article. First-line therapy for pelvic floor disorders is conservative, and may include professionally guided pelvic floor exercises supported by biofeedback training, dietary adjustments, fiber supplementation, and constipating agents. If this fails, additional treatment options include sacral nerve modulation which offers an effective, minimally invasive therapy for patients with insufficient improvement after conservative therapy.