Aim Proctology is one of the surgical specialties that has suffered the most during COVID‐19 pandemic. Using a cross‐sectional non‐incentivised World Wide Web survey, we aimed to snapshot the current status of proctological practice in six world regions. Method Surgeons affiliated to renowned scientific societies with an interest in coloproctology were invited to join the survey. Members of the ProctoLock Working Group enhanced recruitment by direct invitation. The predictive power of respondents’ and hospitals’ demographics on the change of status of surgical and outpatient activities was calculated. Results Respondents ( n = 1050) were mostly men (79%), with a mean age of 46.9 years, at consultant level (79%), practising in academic hospitals (53%) offering a dedicated proctology service (68%). A total of 119 (11%) tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. The majority (54%) came from Europe. Participants from Asia reported a higher proportion of unaltered practice (17%), while those from Europe had the highest proportion of fully stopped practice (20%). The likelihood of ongoing surgical practice was higher in men (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.13–2.09; P = 0.006), in those reporting readily availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR 1.40, 1.08–1.42; P = 0.012) and in centres that were partially or not at all involved in COVID‐19 care (OR 2.95, 2.14–4.09; P < 0.001). This chance decreased by 2% per year of respondent’s age ( P = 0.001). Conclusion Several factors including different screening policies and resource capacity affected the current status of proctological practice. This information may help health authorities to formulate effective preventive strategies to limit curtailment of care of these patients during the pandemic.

Introduction: Hemorrhoidal disease is the most common proctologic condition in adults. Among the different surgical procedures, one of the greatest innovations is represented by the stapled hemorrhoidopexy. The history of this technique started with a single stapler use passing thorough a double stapler technique to resect the adequate amount of prolapse, finally arriving to the use of high volume devices. Methods: Nevertheless each device has its own specific feature, the stapler is basically made up with one or more circular lines of titanium staples whose height may be variable. The procedure is based on different steps: Introduction of the CAD, evaluation of the prolapse, fashioning purse string or parachute suture, introduction of the stapler head beyond the suture, pull the wires through the window, close the stapler and keep pulled the wires of the suture held together with a forcep, fire using two hands, open the stapler and remove it and check the staple line and then check the specimen. One of the latest innovations in stapled surgery the Tissue Selective Therapy. It is a minimally invasive procedure in which there is a partial circular stapled hemorrhoidopexy focused on the prolapsing piles with bridges of normal mucosa left. Results: Several studies have reported that SH is a safe and effective procedure to treat the hemorrhoidal prolapse. It is a quicker procedure with a shorter hospital stay and earlier return to work if compared with the conventional treatment. This is due to a less postoperative pain, postoperative bleeding, wound complications and constipation. Furthermore, the first generation devices had worse outcomes if compared with those of the new generation stapler that showed lower postoperative complication rate with better anatomical and symptomatic results. Conclusions: Stapled procedure for the treatment of symptomatic hemorrhoidal prolapse represents one of the most important innovations in proctology of the last century bringing with it the new revolutionary concept of the rectal intussusception as a determining factor involved in the natural history of the disease. Stapled hemorrhoidopexy marked an era in which the surgeon may to offer to the patients a safe, effective treatment with less pain and fast recovery.

Background The use of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells showed great regenerative properties. They were used in several surgical fields such as plastic, orthopaedic and colorectal surgery with good results. It was recently published their efficacy to treat Crohn-related anal fistula but they were obtained through a laboratory process with significant costs. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of the micro-fragmented autologous adipose tissue injection associated with the advancement flap for the treatment of Crohn-related complex perianal fistula in one surgical step. Methods From January 2017 to February 2018 all the patients that fulfil the following criteria were enrolled in the study. Inclusion criteria were Crohn-related complex anal fistula confirmed by pelvic magnetic resonance or 3D-360° transanal ultrasound, fistula drained with a seton from 4 to 6w, first sphincter-saving procedure. The harvested fat from the abdominal wall was processed using the Lipogems® kit (Figure 1). The internal opening was closed through 2/0 PDS stiches with mucosal flap above it. The final product was then injected around the internal opening and fistula tract previously debrided (Figure 2 and 3). Outcomes were determined at 1-3-6-12 months follow-up assessing success rate, defined as clinical remission without any discharge. Results Ten patients underwent the procedure in the time interval between two biologic drug administration (6 infliximab –4 adalimumab). The homogenous follow-up was 12 months with an overall healing rate of 60%. No perioperative or postoperative complications were recorded. Conclusion Micro-fragmented autologous adipose tissue injection showed promising results to promote Crohn-related complex anal fistula healing. These good results are probably related to the reduction of inflammation and the activation of a reparative mechanisms.

Proctology is one of the surgical specialties that suffered the most during COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from a crosssectional worldwide web survey, we aimed to snapshot the current status of proctologic practice in Italy with differences between three macro areas (North, Centre, South). Specialists affiliated to renowned scientific societies with an interest in coloproctology were invited to join a 27-item survey. Predictive power of respondents' and hospitals' demographics on the change of status of surgical activities was calculated. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 04392245). Of 299 respondents from Italy, 94 (40%) practiced in the North, 60 (25%) in the Centrer and 82 (35%) in the South and Islands. The majority were men (79%), at consultant level (70%), with a mean age of 46.5 years, practicing in academic hospitals (39%), where a dedicated proctologist was readily available (68%). Southern respondents were more at risk of infection compared to those from the Center (OR, 3.30; 95%CI 1.46; 7.47, P = 0.004), as were males (OR, 2.64; 95%CI 1.09; 6.37, P = 0.031) and those who routinely tested patients prior to surgery (OR, 3.02; 95%CI 1.39; 6.53, P = 0.005). The likelihood of ongoing surgical practice was higher in the South (OR 1.36, 95%CI 0.75; 2.46, P = 0.304) and in centers that were not fully dedicated to COVID-19 care (OR 4.00, 95%CI 1.88; 8.50, P < 0.001). The results of this survey highlight important factors contributing to the deadlock of proctologic practice in Italy and may inform the development of future management strategies.

Background: In the past, most people sought medical information by consulting heath care professionals. Nowadays, many people started to use online resources to access medical information. Objective: The study aims to investigate whether YouTube videos on hemorrhoids and hemorrhoid surgery can be a useful e-learning source for the general population, surgical trainees and specialists. Methods: A YouTube search was performed in October 2019 using the keywords “hemorrhoids” and “hemorrhoid surgery”, and the videos were divided into 2 groups according to the keywords. Three independent researchers assessed the metadata and classified them according to the level of accuracy (hemorrhoid group) and to the level of usefulness (hemorrhoid surgery group). Cohen’s test and Kappa (K) value was used to evaluate the inter-investigators agreement. Results: A total of 200 videos were analyzed, 100 for each keyword. Regarding hemorrhoid group, 43 videos (48.3%) were misleading, 9 were accurate (10.1%), 18 were approximate (20.2%), and 19 were considered a personal experience (21.4%). Regarding hemorrhoid surgery group, around 60% of the videos were lacking clear explanation, while about 16% were inaccurate. Only the remaining 24% were considered useful for teaching. Conclusion: Around half of the YouTube videos regarding hemorrhoids topic are misleading or inaccurate and present a risk of harmful consequences. Credible videos with accurate information need to be uploaded by medical professionals and medical institutions and some sort of filtering using categories by the staff of YouTube appear to be necessary. Care must be taken to produce clear highquality operative clips with generous scientific commentary.