Sacral nerve terminal motor latency after ileal J pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis

Using a new transcutaneous magnetic stimulation technique, sacral nerve terminal motor latencies (SNTML) were measured after ileal J pouch-anal anastomosis in eight patients with ulcerative colitis, and the results were compared with those obtained from 15 normal subjects. The conduction delay of the SNTML in patients with soiling was significantly longer than that of the continent group as well as that of normal subjects (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the conduction delay between the continent group and the control subjects. These findings therefore support the hypothesis that such soiling, which is sometimes seen after ileal J pouch-anal anastomosis, is partly due to damage to the sacral nerves.