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Anastomotic leak in colorectal surgery: are 75 % preventable?

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Abstract

Introduction

Anastomotic leak (AL) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality associated with complications of colorectal surgery. Furthermore, AL results in prolonged hospital stays and significant increase in costs of medical resources.

Materials and methods

In this study, we investigated the impact of anastomosis technique on the rate of anastomotic leak. The rate of leak was compared between two groups performing end-to-end (E-E) vs. side-to-end (S-E) anastomosis. The impact of various risk factors was also compared between the two groups.

Results

There were 382 E-E and 363 S-E anastomoses after left colectomy or rectal resections. The anastomotic leak rate was 8.64 % using E-E compared to 1.93 % using S-E anastomosis technique (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

These results indicate that the rate of anastomotic leak after left colon and rectum resections could be significantly reduced utilizing S-E anastomosis technique.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Helios Klinikum Schleswig, Lutherstr 22, 24837, Schleswig, Germany

    Hodjat Shekarriz, Janina Eigenwald, Bijan Shekarriz, Jasmin Shekarriz, Danny Zoubie & Henning Wittenburg

  2. Anatomisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel (CAU), Otto-Hahn-Platz 8, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Thilo Wedel

  3. Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 601 Children Lane, Norfolk, VA, 23510, USA

    Jyoti Upadhyay

Authors
  1. Hodjat Shekarriz
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  2. Janina Eigenwald
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  3. Bijan Shekarriz
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  5. Jasmin Shekarriz
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Correspondence to Bijan Shekarriz.

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Shekarriz, H., Eigenwald, J., Shekarriz, B. et al. Anastomotic leak in colorectal surgery: are 75 % preventable?. Int J Colorectal Dis 30, 1525–1531 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2338-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2338-z

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