The Acticon® Neosphincter has these components: 

• Cuff—The cuff is implanted around the anal canal, the tube that carries stool out of your body.
• Balloon—The balloon is implanted in your abdomen.
• Tubing—The components of the device are connected by tubing that allows fluid to move within the device.
• Pump—The pump is placed in the scrotum and can be felt through the skin. The lower part of the pump is soft and squeezable, the upper part containing the deactivation button is hard.
• Deactivation Button—This small button can be felt on the upper, hard part of the pump and turns the device on or off.
• Septum Port—The septum port can be felt at the tip of the lower, soft part of the pump and allows the physician to add additional fluid, if needed, without surgery.

The cuff, which is filled with sterile fluid, gently squeezes the anal canal closed. When you choose to have a bowel movement, you squeeze and release the lower, soft part of the pump several times. This moves the fluid out of the cuff and into the balloon. Because the empty cuff does not press the anal canal closed, stool now can pass through the anal canal and out of your body.

After having a bowel movement, the fluid automatically flows from the balloon back to the cuff. When the cuff is full, it compresses the anal canal closed again.

Using the Acticon Neosphincter
To open the cuff to pass stool:

• Feel for the pump in your scrotum.
• With one hand, gently grasp the tubing above the pump to hold the pump in place.
• With the other hand, squeeze and release the lower, soft part of the pump several times until it remains flat. When the lower part of the pump is flat, the cuff is open and you should be able to pass stool.
  

To close the cuff to restore bowel control:

You do not need to do anything to refill the cuff after you defecate. The fluid automatically will return from the balloon to the cuff after several minutes and the cuff will recompress the anal canal.

How the Deactivation Button Works
Acticon has a deactivation button so your doctor can turn off the device. The deactivation button is located on the upper, hard part of the pump. When the device is properly deactivated, the cuff remains empty. This allows the anal canal to remain open and stool to pass.

Your doctor will deactivate the device until you have healed from your surgery, or may instruct you to deactivate it at other times. You will not use this button in your normal use of the device; however, if you accidentally deactivate the device by pressing the deactivation button, you should contact your doctor.