[Contribution of Babcock's operation to the treatment of rectal cancer. Results in 170 cases (author's transl)].

When conducted as a curative procedure, for tumors with a lower pole at least 7 cm from the anal margin, Babcock's operation can avoid the need for a definitive abdominal colostomy in some patients, without compromising the chances of survival. Postoperative care is often longer and more difficult than after abdomino-perineal amputation, but immediate mortality and long-term survival appear to be totally comparable. Functional results are good in most cases, and though some hygienic and dietary restrictions are often necessary, these constitute a more minor handicap than that of an abdominal colostomy. On the contrary, Babcocks operation should not be used as a palliative measure, as important restrictive postoperative conditions on a patient with a short survival prognosis, to obtain a functional result after several months when he will not be able to benefit from it, appears to be unwarranted.