Reviewer's report
Title:Obesity is a Negative Predictor of Success after Surgery for Complex Anal
Fistula
Version: 1Date:13 March 2011
Reviewer: C. Neal Ellis
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
1. In the manuscript the authors state the follow-up is a mean of 6 months with a
range of 3-18 monthe. What is the median follow-up? This should be used
instead of the mean. Additionally, it is generally considered that 12 months of
follow-up is required to determine the results of fistula surgery. The short
follow-up should be included in the discussion.
2. It appears from the table that co-morbidities, including diabetes, were more
common in the obese group. Diabetes has been reported to be associated with
increased risk of recurrence after sphincter preserving fistula management. I feel
that the presence of diabetes should be included in the univariate and
multivariate analysis and the result included in the manuscript.
Minor essential revisions
1. Can the authors provide continence data on the patients in this series. In the
introduction they state that flap repair has been reported to result in incontinence
in a significant number of patients. Can the authors present any data on this
topic?
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interest
Reviewer's report
Title:Obesity is a Negative Predictor of Success after Surgery for Complex Anal
Fistula
Version: 1Date:13 March 2011
Reviewer: C. Neal Ellis
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
1. In the manuscript the authors state the follow-up is a mean of 6 months with a
range of 3-18 monthe. What is the median follow-up? This should be used
instead of the mean. Additionally, it is generally considered that 12 months of
follow-up is required to determine the results of fistula surgery. The short
follow-up should be included in the discussion.
2. It appears from the table that co-morbidities, including diabetes, were more
common in the obese group. Diabetes has been reported to be associated with
increased risk of recurrence after sphincter preserving fistula management. I feel
that the presence of diabetes should be included in the univariate and
multivariate analysis and the result included in the manuscript.
Minor essential revisions
1. Can the authors provide continence data on the patients in this series. In the
introduction they state that flap repair has been reported to result in incontinence
in a significant number of patients. Can the authors present any data on this
topic?
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interest
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Obesity is a Negative Predictor of Success after Surgery for Complex Anal
Fistula
Version: 1Date:13 March 2011
Reviewer: C. Neal Ellis
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
1. In the manuscript the authors state the follow-up is a mean of 6 months with a
range of 3-18 monthe. What is the median follow-up? This should be used
instead of the mean. Additionally, it is generally considered that 12 months of
follow-up is required to determine the results of fistula surgery. The short
follow-up should be included in the discussion.
2. It appears from the table that co-morbidities, including diabetes, were more
common in the obese group. Diabetes has been reported to be associated with
increased risk of recurrence after sphincter preserving fistula management. I feel
that the presence of diabetes should be included in the univariate and
multivariate analysis and the result included in the manuscript.
Minor essential revisions
1. Can the authors provide continence data on the patients in this series. In the
introduction they state that flap repair has been reported to result in incontinence
in a significant number of patients. Can the authors present any data on this
topic?
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interest
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