Laparoscopic colectomy for Dukes A colon cancer

The use of laparoscopic surgery to treat colon cancer has been well studied; however, the specific use of laparoscopic colectomy for Dukes A colon cancer has not been evaluated. The data of laparoscopic colectomy were compared with those of conventional open colectomy, and the surgical results of patients who underwent surgery for Dukes A colon cancer were evaluated. Between November 1993 and October 1997, 20 patients underwent laparoscopic colectomy for Dukes A colon cancer. Operation time, blood loss, first passage of flatus, day of resumption of oral intake, length of hospital stay after surgery, and number of dissected lymph nodes were compared between 20 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy and 23 patients who underwent conventional open colectomy for Dukes A colon cancer. In patients with laparoscopic colectomy, when compared with those with conventional open colectomy, mean blood loss was less (103 g vs. 318 g), flatus returned more quickly (3.5 days vs. 4.2 days), oral intake resumed earlier (3.7 days vs. 4.7 days), and postoperative hospital stay was shorter (16.4 days vs. 24.6 days). The mean number of dissected lymph nodes was not different between the two groups (9.2 vs. 9.2 for D2 dissection). No patient had port-site metastasis or recurrence during a follow-up period from 13 to 60 months (median, 38 months). Review of the literature and the authors' findings indicated that none of the 142 reported patients had port-site metastasis after laparoscopic colectomy for Dukes A colon cancer. The results indicate that laparoscopic colectomy is safe and useful when applied to patients with Dukes A colon cancer and performed carefully by trained surgeons.