Anal abscess – a trivial disease or a serious one?

A patient who reports to the hospital due to anal abscess is often treated as not seriously ill, although in about 40% of cases, abscess may initiate anal fistula development, and the one that is not or insufficiently emptied, may also cause septic complications that directly threaten patient’s life. The majority of inflammatory diseases in the rectum, including abscesses and anal fistulae, are a growing infection in the anal crypts. In recent years, a large group of patients with rectal abscesses have been patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, as well as immunocompromised patients, e.g. in the course of HIV infection. The anal abscess in any case should be urgently treated by its opening and drainage. The majority of patients with rectal abscesses should be admitted to the hospital and operated in the operating block, in adequate anesthesia (regional or general). The article discusses recommendations for the opening of low and high abscesses, postoperative management and possible complications associated with this disease and its inappropriate treatment. An abscess of the anus, generally considered a trivial disease, treated inappropriately, can cause serious complications.