Advancement flaps in perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease: technical steps and current evidence

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Fistulizing perianal Crohn's disease is complex and negatively affects quality of life. Rectal advancement flap (AF) has been widely adopted as a sphincter-preserving procedure for treating complex anal fistulas. The European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) guidelines on surgical treatment of Crohn's disease state that AF is a therapeutic option for patients with Crohn's disease and complex perianal fistulas. Despite its use in clinical practice, documented use of AF in treating fistulas related to Crohn's disease remains limited. This narrative review aimed to examine the latest literature and discuss current evidence for the surgical treatment of fistulizing perianal Crohn's disease using AF procedures. A PICO search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar to identify studies published in English on the topic between 2018 and November 2025. In total, 11 studies were identified, including 305 patients with Crohn's disease. Most patients received a draining loose seton prior to the AF procedure, while the proportion of patients on biological therapy or with a diverting stoma varied greatly. Reported success rates for clinical healing ranged from 23% to 91%, with median follow-up times reported between 7 months and 6 years (total range: 2 months to 10 years). Despite the inherent limitations of mostly retrospective and small studies,

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.