The effect of anticoagulation therapy on the surgical outcomes of minimally invasive major gastrointestinal surgery.

BACKGROUND

The surgical outcomes of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in patients receiving anticoagulation therapy (ACT) are unknown. We investigated the effect of ACT on the surgical outcomes of minimally invasive major GI surgery, with a particular focus on postoperative bleeding and thromboembolic complications.

METHODS

A total of consecutive 1290 patients undergoing elective minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) major GI surgery (esophagogastric and colorectal resection for malignancy) between 2014 and 2023 were enrolled. The patients were divided into three groups: patients without receiving anticoagulation therapy (non-ACT, n = 1076), patients receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC, n = 144), and patients receiving warfarin (WF, n = 70). Outcome variables were compared between the groups and the risk factors of postoperative bleeding complications were assessed using logistic multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The overall rate of thromboembolic complication was 0.5%, and the operative mortality was zero in the whole cohort. The incidences of postoperative bleeding in the non-ACT, DOAC, and WF groups were 1.0%, 6.9% and 11.4%, respectively (P < 0.001). Among 8 DOAC-received patients with postoperative GI bleeding, 75% of cases occurred on postoperative day 5 or later. Multivariate analysis showed DOAC (odds ratio = 5.420, P < 0.001) and perioperative heparinization (odds ratio = 3.770, P = 0.048) were significant risk factors for major postoperative bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Although minimally invasive major GI surgery can be safely performed in patients receiving ACT, attention should be paid for the occurrence of delayed GI bleeding especially in the DOAC-received patients. Patients treated with DOAC or perioperative heparinization still represent a challenging group in the present cohort, and need to be carefully managed.