Introduction:

Colon cancer still has an important social impact and high morbidity despite existing early detection programs. It ranks fourth among malignant tumors, while a significant number of patients undergo emergency surgery for complications of this disease, many times unknown until the time of surgery.

Objective:

To characterize the emergency surgery performed to patients with a diagnosis of complicated colon cancer.

Method:

An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out, between January 2014 and December 2016, in the general surgery service. The sample consisted of 96 patients with this entity and from General Calixto García University Hospital.

Results:

The incidence was analyzed according to sex, sex/location relationship, location/complication relationship, staging and mortality. Colon tumors prevailed in the female sex and, therefore, patients with surgical complications from this entity were more frequent in our center. There right location predominated globally, with a predominance in the female sex. Intestinal obstruction was the most frequent complication. Stage two, according to the TNM classification, stood out, accounting for 37.5%, together with a postoperative mortality of 31%.

Conclusions:

Our data coincide with the national trend on the highest incidence of colon cancer in female patients, who account for the highest morbidity and mortality rates. Continuing to improve the entity's prevention and early detection program, as well as its timely treatment, will bring about a reduction in the rates nowadays reported.

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