PURPOSES: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the postoperative complications, the length of the hospital stay, the clinic functional results, and the oncological outcome at 2,5 years follow-up of patients with very low rectal cancer treated by laparoscopic coloanal anastomosis and intersphincteric resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 491 patients were treated by laparoscopic colorectal surgery, 13 of 172 with rectal cancer were selected and prospectively evaluated. All with very low rectal cancer, 9 female. No patient T4 or with complete response to quimioirradiation was selected. Quimioirradiation was used in 8 patients. RESULTS: The postoperative complication rate was 23,1% and the anastomotic fistulas rate was 7,7%. No patients died postoperatively. 61,5% of the patients were discharged before 7 days of hospital stay. The median number of harvested lymphnodes was 13. Mean distal tumor-free margin was 1,5 cm. Circumferential margin was positive in 1 case (7,7%). Fecal incontinence was related in 41% of the patients and fracionned evacuations in 91%. Eleven patients (84%) have related good quality of life. One patient is with definitive stoma (7,7%). With median follow-up of 30 months, there were one local recurrence (7,7%) and two cases of lung metastases (15,4 %). All, the three patients died of the diseases. Ten patients are survived (77%) without disease. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of results led to the following conclusions: a) The technique employed is safe and have presented low rate of complication and no mortality; b) The use of this technique have permited short length of the hospital stay; c) Functional results were regular , but colostomy was avoid in 92,3% of the patients; d) The use of this technique does not compromise the oncological outcome at a median follow-up of 30 months.
Intersphincteric Resection; Rectal Cancer; Laparoscopy
