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Is anterior resection of the rectosigmoid safe after preoperative radiation?

  • Published:
Diseases of the Colon & Rectum

Abstract

Forty patients with carcinoma of the rectum or rectosigmoid underwent preoperative irradiation, followed by anterior resection with anastomosis. The radiation dose was 4500 rads administered in 25 fractions over a period of five weeks. One to three weeks after the radiation was completed, anterior resection of the rectosigmoid with anastomosis was done. Of the 40 patients, 23 had hand-sewn anastomoses and 17 had EEA stapled anastomoses. Fourteen of the 40 had diverting loop colostomies, all colostomies were subsequently closed, and there were no clinical postoperative anastomotic leaks. Anterior resection and anastomosis are considered to be technically safe with the surgical and radiation techniques used.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Surgery and Radiation Therapy, Halifax Hospital Medical Center, Daytona Beach, Florida

    Shed H. Roberson M.D., Howard C. Heron M.D., Herbert D. Kerman M.D. & Terry S. Bloom M.D.

  2. the Department of Surgery, Ormond Beach Memorial Hospital, Ormond Beach, Florida

    Shed H. Roberson M.D., Howard C. Heron M.D., Herbert D. Kerman M.D. & Terry S. Bloom M.D.

  3. the Department of Surgery, Daytona Beach Community Hospital, Daytona Beach, Florida

    Shed H. Roberson M.D., Howard C. Heron M.D., Herbert D. Kerman M.D. & Terry S. Bloom M.D.

Authors
  1. Shed H. Roberson M.D.
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  2. Howard C. Heron M.D.
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  3. Herbert D. Kerman M.D.
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  4. Terry S. Bloom M.D.
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Additional information

Read at the joint meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons with the Section of Colo-Proctology, Royal Society of Medicine, and the Section of Colonic and Rectal Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 6 to 11, 1984.

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Roberson, S.H., Heron, H.C., Kerman, H.D. et al. Is anterior resection of the rectosigmoid safe after preoperative radiation?. Dis Colon Rectum 28, 254–259 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02554046

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02554046

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