Five-year trends in proctological practice in Dubai: Insights from a high-volume referral centre

BACKGROUND: Proctological diseases are common worldwide, yet their true burden is often underestimated due to delayed presentation and limited standardized reporting with a diverse population, rising case numbers, and evolving minimally invasive techniques. Understanding local trends is essential for improving the quality of care. This study aims to evaluate five-year trends in proctologic surgical procedures, patient characteristics, and referral patterns in a tertiary referral centre in Dubai. METHODS: This retrospective trend analysis study reviewed all patients who underwent proctological surgeries at a tertiary hospital in Dubai from July 2020 to June 2025. Demographic data, case characteristics, procedure types, and operative details were extracted from electronic records. Trends were summarized as frequency and percentages, and Poisson regression was used to assess associations between patients' characteristics and procedure patterns, considering a p-value ≤ 0.05 significant. RESULTS: A total of 967 patients underwent proctological surgeries during the five years. The mean age was 41.5 years, and most patients were male. Hemorrhoid procedure was the most common (42%), followed by anal fistula and abscess-related surgeries. More than half of the cases were identified as minor, while 159 (16.44%) were major. Most cases were classified as elective (856, 88.52%). Yearly trends showed a rise in the rate of hemorrhoid and fistula surgeries. Men have a significantly higher relative likelihood of surgery compared to women, by 23% [aRR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08-1.41]. The relative risk of no incision was more than twice that of a clean wound class [aRR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.72-2.66]. CONCLUSION: This study reports that age and gender remain significant contributors to the high risk of proctology surgeries. Males are predominantly at higher relative likelihood of surgery. The trends show that hemorrhoids were the common problem for which almost half of the patients underwent surgery. Despite advancements in minimally invasive surgical techniques. Challenges such as high recurrence rates. This study highlights the need for a standardized approach in proctology to enhance patient outcomes and streamline treatment processes.