I appreciate deeply the honor which the American Proctologic Society conferred upon me in electing me President a year ago. I accepted it with gratitude and I have found it a very pleasant and satisfying experience, due entirely to the fine cooperation of the officers and other members of the Society.

The office of the President has many benefits, not the least of which is the privilege of addressing members of the Society under conditions which, from the speaker's point of view, are ideal. He may select his subject, he may say more or less what he pleases without a time limit, and he has a receptive audience. This certainly provides a rare opportunity and I grasp it to discuss certain aspects of the subject, Complete Rectal Prolapse, a condition which poses a challenge to all who undertake its management.


Complete rectal prolapse has attracted the attention of surgeons for a long time, but little progress was made in the understanding of it until the beginning of this century. Since then, it has been of special interest to some of our most outstanding surgeons. A review of their published reports reveals a striking variety of concepts and operations which deal with all phases of the problem.

An important development in the past decade is recognition of the diversity of rectal prolapse. It appears that the deficiency is not always the same and that this results in more than one type of rectal prolapse.