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Laparoscopic colorectal surgery—Are we being honest with our patients?

  • Original Contributions
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Diseases of the Colon & Rectum

Abstract

PURPOSE: A survey was undertaken to assess the impact of laparoscopy on the practice of colorectal surgery. METHODS: A total of 1,520 questionnaires were mailed to all members of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons; 635 (42 percent) surgeons responded, 50 percent, and indicated that one questionnaire represented their entire group practice. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-eight (47 percent) respondents currently perform laparoscopic colorectal surgery; 62 percent (171) use the laparoscope for ≤20 percent of their bowel resections. Conversely, only 6 percent (16) use the laparoscope in over 50 percent of resections. The percentage of surgeons who perform various procedures were right colectomy, 78 percent; left colectomy, 57 percent; stoma creations, 52 percent; anterior resection, 44 percent; Hartmann's closure, 42 percent; abdominoperineal resection, 27 percent; rectopexy, 18 percent; and total colectomy, 14 percent. If the preoperative diagnosis is known to be carcinoma, 196 (71 percent) surgeons attempted laparoscopic colorectal surgery, but 55 percent of surgeons (108) operated only for early lesions and 35 percent (68) only for palliation. To enable the procedure to be laparoscopically performed, 87 percent (243) of surgeons stated that they have changed their practice to include routine use of ureteral stents (23 percent), preoperative colonoscopic marking of small lesions (40 percent), or intraoperative colonoscopy. Despite increased use of endoscopy, there were 18 patients in whom the wrong segment of colon was removed. Moreover, nine patients had early local recurrence after resection of colon cancer, nine had early local recurrence after rectal cancer resection, and five had early port-site recurrence. Although 255 (40 percent) surgeons surveyed would themselves undergo laparoscopic colorectal surgery for a rectal villous adenoma, only 38 (6 percent) would have a laparoscopic anterior resection for cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Several important problems exist including early port-site recurrence and a dual surgical standard. Although many surgeons are eager to practice laparoscopic colorectal surgery on their patients with carcinoma, they are reluctant to have the new technique applied to themselves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

    Steven D. Wexner M.D., Stephen M. Cohen M.D., Alexis Ulrich M.S. & Petachia Reissman M.D.

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  1. Steven D. Wexner M.D.
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  2. Stephen M. Cohen M.D.
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  3. Alexis Ulrich M.S.
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  4. Petachia Reissman M.D.
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Read at the meeting of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Orlando, Florida, May 8 to 13, 1994.

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Wexner, S.D., Cohen, S.M., Ulrich, A. et al. Laparoscopic colorectal surgery—Are we being honest with our patients?. Dis Colon Rectum 38, 723–727 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02048029

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