Introduction:

Laparoscopic ultralow anterior rectal resection with coloanal anastomosis prevents the performance of a definitive colostomy.

Objective:

To determine the indications, describe the surgical technique and show the long-term outcome of performing this procedure in the treatment of cancer of the lower rectum.

Method:

A descriptive and prospective observational study of 53 patients with low rectal cancer was carried out in the period between October 2007 and November 2018, at the National Center for Minimum Access Surgery. All resections were carried out by a group dedicated to colorectal surgery. In all cases, the total mesorectal excision was performed.

Results:

53 patients (30 males and 23 females), with an average age of 57 years (range 23-81) and 42 (79.2%) after neoadjuvant therapy were operated using this technique. The average surgical time was 195 min (range 90-360) and the estimated blood loss was 72 mL. The incidence of major morbidity was 16.9% (9/53) and the average hospital stay was 6.3 days. The mean follow-up period was 40 months (range 1-132), with a local relapse of 9.4% (5/53) and a 5-year overall survival of 80.3%.

Conclusions:

Laparoscopic ultralow anterior resection of the rectum with coloanal anastomosis is a safe technique with excellent outcomes in terms of local relapse and overall survival.

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