Fecal incontinence

By Mayo Clinic Staff
Nov. 27, 2024

Fecal incontinence care at Mayo Clinic

Advanced diagnosis and treatment

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed specialized diagnostic tools for characterizing individual cases of fecal incontinence. They continue with active research in this area.

Examples of diagnostic tools include the following:

  • Magnetic resonance proctography is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that shows pelvic floor motion in real time. This is now a standard clinical test at Mayo Clinic.
  • Portable anorectal manometer is a simple, inexpensive device that measures pressures in the rectum and anal canal.
  • Anal electromyography (EMG) is a test that can identify anal sphincter nerve injury in women with fecal incontinence. Anal EMG offers greater accuracy than other tests for this cause of fecal incontinence.

Mayo Clinic also offers a full range of treatments, including a pelvic floor retraining program. This program teaches you how to strengthen pelvic floor muscles, sense when stool is ready to be passed and contract muscles if you need to delay passing stool.

  • Mayo Clinic's Bowel Evacuation Disorders Program is a unique outpatient program not offered elsewhere in the United States. Specially trained nurses work multiple times a day over a two-week period with people who have fecal incontinence or other anal or rectal disorders.

    Many people who enter the program have had unsuccessful treatment at other facilities but find success here. The program combines biofeedback and behavioral modification. It also provides individuals with the skills and education necessary to complete a successful follow-up program at home.

  • The Motility Clinic is the first center nationwide to use high-resolution anorectal manometry. The Motility Clinic also was the first to develop a system for classifying people with anal or rectal disorders.
  • Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat fecal incontinence. Researchers at Mayo Clinic continue to study and refine SNS. SNS involves implanting a neurostimulator in the pelvis that transmits mild electrical impulses, which researchers believe improves sensation.

Expertise and rankings

Mayo Clinic specialists treat nearly 3,500 people each year for fecal incontinence.

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