Shi L, Zhang ZQ, Cheng Y, Qi SQ, Zhang T, Shen WC, Hu XY, Zhou YL, Ju JJ. Pelvic floor physical therapy combined with biofeedback electrical stimulation for postoperative fecal incontinence in children with Hirschsprung’s disease. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(7): 118843 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i7.118843]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhen-Qiang Zhang, MD, Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, No. 39 Wangjiang East Road, Baohe District, Hefei 230000, Anhui Province, China. etyyetpwk@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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research-article
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Shi L, Zhang ZQ, Cheng Y, Qi SQ, Zhang T, Shen WC, Hu XY, Zhou YL, Ju JJ. Pelvic floor physical therapy combined with biofeedback electrical stimulation for postoperative fecal incontinence in children with Hirschsprung’s disease. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(7): 118843 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i7.118843]
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2026; 18(7): 118843 Published online Jul 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i7.118843
Pelvic floor physical therapy combined with biofeedback electrical stimulation for postoperative fecal incontinence in children with Hirschsprung’s disease
Lei Shi, Zhen-Qiang Zhang, Yuan Cheng, Shi-Qin Qi, Tao Zhang, Wei-Cheng Shen, Xue-Yi Hu, Yu-Liang Zhou, Jun-Jun Ju
Lei Shi, Zhen-Qiang Zhang, Yuan Cheng, Shi-Qin Qi, Tao Zhang, Wei-Cheng Shen, Xue-Yi Hu, Yu-Liang Zhou, Jun-Jun Ju, Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Hefei 230000, Anhui Province, China
Lei Shi, Clinical Medicine Science, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241003, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Shi L and Cheng Y contributed equally to literature retrieval, data analysis, and manuscript drafting; Hu XY, Zhang T and Ju JJ participated in critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; Zhang ZQ and Qi SQ provided overall guidance, supervised the study, and contributed to manuscript editing; all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital (Approval No. EYLL-2025-76).
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Due to the sensitive nature of the patient data involved in this study, the datasets are not publicly available.
Corresponding author: Zhen-Qiang Zhang, MD, Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, No. 39 Wangjiang East Road, Baohe District, Hefei 230000, Anhui Province, China. etyyetpwk@163.com
Received: January 21, 2026 Revised: February 14, 2026 Accepted: April 1, 2026 Published online: July 27, 2026 Processing time: 191 Days and 21.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Postoperative fecal incontinence after Hirschsprung’s disease (HD) surgery is a common problem affecting the quality of life in affected children. Pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) combined with biofeedback electrical stimulation (BES) offers an innovative, non-invasive rehabilitation treatment for this issue, but the clinical efficacy remains unclear.
AIM
To study the efficacy of PFPT combined with BES for fecal incontinence in children after HD surgery.
METHODS
Clinical data of children with fecal incontinence after HD surgery, who underwent BES and PFPT at the Department of Pediatric Surgery of Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital from January 2018 to June 2025, were collected, including symptom duration, anal pressure parameters, Fecal Incontinence Scores, etc. Children treated with BES alone from January 2018 to May 2022 were designated as the single treatment group; children treated with PFPT combined with BES from June 2022 to June 2025 were designated as the combined treatment group.
RESULTS
A total of 56 children were collected, including 40 males and 16 females. Among them, 31 children were in the single treatment group and 25 in the combined treatment group. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender (P > 0.05). At the initial evaluation stage, there were no statistical differences in clinical indicators. After three treatment courses, both groups showed significant improvement in anal resting pressure, initial sensation threshold, defecation sensation threshold, defecation urgency threshold, and Fecal Incontinence Scores (P < 0.05). The P value for defecation urgency threshold after treatment in both groups was 0.077 (P > 0.05), showing no statistical significance, while the P values for anal resting pressure, initial sensation threshold, and defecation sensation threshold were < 0.001, and Fecal Incontinence Score showed P = 0.013, with statistical significance (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
PFPT combined with BES is a safe and effective treatment for fecal incontinence in children after HD surgery, and the combined treatment group shows better results than the single treatment group, making it worthy of clinical promotion and application.
Core Tip: Pelvic floor physical therapy combined with biofeedback electrical stimulation is a safe and effective treatment for fecal incontinence in children after Hirschsprung’s disease surgery, and the combined treatment group shows better results than the single treatment group, making it worthy of clinical promotion and application.
