Methods

All patients evaluated and treated for a pouch fistula at Mayo Clinic from 1985 to 2017 were included in this retrospective review following institutional review board approval. Patients were excluded if they had surgery for familial adenomatous polyposis, when the pouch was not attached to the anus (Barnett pouch), if it was later determined that the fistula did not track from the pouch to the vagina or cutaneous surface, if there was insufficient information in the chart to collect all recorded variables, and if the course of treatment was complicated by rectal cancer. Variables recorded included demographic data and inflammatory disease characteristics. The date of fistula formation was estimated based on the date of symptom onset or first radiological evidence.