BACKGROUND

Data supporting the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (TPC-IPAA) and total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis (TC-IRA) for patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) are limited. The aim of this study was to clarify the feasibility and morbidity of laparoscopic TPC-IPAA and TC-IRA for patients with FAP, using a large Japanese multicenter dataset.

METHODS

Data on 256 patients with FAP who underwent TPC-IPAA (n = 171) or TC-IRA (n = 85) at 23 institutions between the years 2000 and 2012 were collected. Short- and long-term clinical outcomes were compared between laparoscopic and open approaches for each procedure.

RESULTS

Among the 256 patients with FAP, a total of 126 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery, consisting of 74 laparoscopic TPC-IPAAs and 52 laparoscopic TC-IRAs. The proportion of the FAP patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery increased during the study period, reaching 79 % of all TPC-IPAAs and 82 % of all TC-IRAs in the final two years covered by the data. In both TPC-IPAA and TC-IRA, the laparoscopic approach was associated with a longer operative duration but a similarly low postoperative morbidity and comparably adequate anal function compared with the open approach. The overall survival and the incidence of desmoid tumor were also comparable between the laparoscopic and open approaches in both procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic TPC-IPAA and TC-IRA are both feasible options-with low rates of morbidity, good functional outcomes, and excellent overall survival rates-in patients with FAP. Since the data indicate that laparoscopic TPC-IPAA and TC-IRA are feasible, they also support the recent increase in laparoscopic surgery for patients with FAP in Japan.