Laparoscopic colectomy for colorectal cancer patients with previous abdominal surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Laparoscopic colectomy has been widely accepted as a standard operation for colorectal cancer. The use of this procedure for patients with previous abdominal surgery is now well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the peri-operative and long-term outcomes of such patients, and to compare them to patients without previous surgery.

METHODOLOGY

Data on a consecutive 121 cases of laparoscopic colectomy performed for colorectal cancer from 1995-1999 in Shikoku Cancer Center were analyzed retrospectively for peri-operative and long-term outcomes.

RESULTS

Twenty one cases (17%) of laparoscopic colectomy were performed for colorectal cancer patients with previous surgery. Although the operation time for the previous surgery group was significantly longer than that of the control group, there was no significant difference in the peri-operative complications and the overall survival between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the previous abdominal surgery increases the time it takes to perform the laparoscopic colectomy, the peri-operative and long-term outcomes were comparable to those from patients without previous surgery.