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What is the best way to treat faecal incontinence?

Yasuko Maeda’s higher doctoral dissertation, which she has recently defended at Aarhus University, focuses on faecal incontinence and its treatment options.

Yasuko Maeda graduated as a medical doctor from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and currently works as a colorectal surgeon in Scotland.

Faecal incontinence negatively affects the quality of life of the patients who suffer from it. Yasuko Maeda, who is now a Doctor of Medical Science at the Department of Clinical Medicine, wishes to give patients a better understanding of their treatment options, so they can make choices that improves their quality of life as much as possible.

One of the treatment options is posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), which improves the ability to control the intestine with the help of a pacemaker. In her higher doctoral dissertation, Yasuko Maeda concludes that nerve stimulation has a positive effect in the short term. In the longer term, the method may have side effects with the patient experiencing pain around the implanted pacemaker.

In the higher doctoral dissertation, Yasuko Maeda also analyses the possibilities for better assessment of the patient's descriptions of symptoms. Her hope is that her analysis of data on faecal incontinence will provide a solid basis for providing patients with better information about their treatment options.

Contact

MD, DMSc Yasuko Maeda
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland
Email: yazmaeda@gmail.com