Laparoscopic right colectomy in patients treated with previous gastrectomy.

Abstract

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is increasingly being performed in patients treated with previous abdominal surgery. This is a retrospective study designed to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic right colectomy in patients with a previous history of gastrectomy. Of 838 consecutive patients who underwent elective laparoscopic right colectomy, 23 had previously undergone gastrectomy (PG group) and 516 had no history of previous abdominal surgery (NS group). The short-term surgical outcomes were retrospectively investigated in the PG and NS groups. The median patient age was 75years in the PG group and 67years in the NS group (p=0.0026), and the median body mass index in both groups was 19.2 and 22.6kg/m(2), respectively (p=0.0006). The mean operative time, amount of blood loss and postoperative hospital stay were similar. One patient in the PG group and five patients in the NS group required conversion to laparotomy (p=0.1307). Three patients in the PG group experienced postoperative complications, one each with an intraperitoneal abscess, wound infection and enterocolitis; however, none of these complications were directly attributable to adhesiolysis. The rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications were similar. Laparoscopic right colectomy is feasible in patients treated with previous gastrectomy.