Does laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection of the rectum compromise long-term survival?

Laparoscopic techniques for bowel resection have not enjoyed widespread popularity. Of concern is that long-term follow-up data of cancer specific outcomes is not yet available. The aim of our study was to examine the long-term outcome of abdominoperineal resection for cancer done laparoscopically compared with a similar cohort who underwent open surgery.

A retrospective review was performed of all abdominoperineal resections done in our center between 1992 and 2000, comparing the cancer-specific outcomes of the laparoscopic cohort with the open cohort. The analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis and survival analysis was calculated by the techniques of Kaplan-Meier.

Eighty-nine patients were reviewed. Twenty-eight operations were done laparoscopically, and 61 were open. The two groups were matched for age and stage of disease. There was no difference in mean length of overall survival (open = 30.3 months; laparoscopic = 40.8 months; P = 0.355 log rank). No difference in overall recurrence rate, isolated recurrence rate, or distant recurrence rates was seen nor was there any difference in the disease-free period. There was no difference in the number of lymph nodes harvested from the resected specimens, and the distance to the lateral margins or involvement of tumor in the lateral margins between the two groups was the same. The laparoscopic cohort did have a significantly shorter length of stay (mean, 13 days) compared with the open cohort (mean, 18 days), P = 0.008 Mann-Whitney U test.

Laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection of the rectum for cancer does not compromise cancer-specific survival outcomes. The patients avoid a large abdominal wound, which improves cosmesis and presumably is responsible for the significantly shorter length of stay.