This multicentric registry reports the experience of 28 Brazilian surgical teams specialized in laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Between 1992 and 2007, 4744 patients (1994 men - 42% and 2751 women - 58%) were operated on, with ages ranging from 1 to 94 years (average 57,5 years). Benign diseases were diagnosed in 2356 patients (49,6%). Most diseases (50,7%) were located in the left and sigmoid colon, 28,2% in the rectum and 0,3% anal canal, 8,0% in the right colon and difuse 7,0%. There were 181 (3,8%) intraoperative complications (0% to 14%). There were reported 261 (5,5 %) convertions to laparotomy (0 to 16,5%), that were also more common during the early experience (n=119 -59,8%). Postoperative complications were registered in 683 (14,5 %) patients (5,0% to 50,%). Mortality occurred in 43 patients (0,8%). Two thousand, three hundred and eight nine (50,4%) malignant tumors were operated on, and histological classification showed 2347 (98%) adenocarcinomas, 30 (0,6%) spinocellular carcinomas and 12 (0,2%) other histological types. Overall tumor recurrence rate was15,3%, the majority of which (68%) diagnosed during the first 2 years of follow-up. After an average follow-up of 52 months, there were reported 19 (0,8%) parietal recurrences, eighteeng of which in port sites and one in a patient with disseminated disease. There was no incisional recurrence in the ports used to withdraw the pathologic specimen. CONCLUSIONS: 1) There was an expressive increase in the Brazilian experience during the last years; 2) Operative indications for benign and malignant diseases were similar, and diverticular disease of the colon represented 40% of the benign ones; 3) Complication and mortality rates were low and comparable to those reported in literature; 4) Oncological outcome are satisfactory and the incidence of parietal recurrence is acceptable and similar to that observed in conventional surgery.
laparoscopic colorectal surgery; laparoscopic colectomy; laparoscopic resection
