Bowel and bladder continence, wound healing, and functional outcomes in patients who underwent sacrectomy

Total or partial sacrectomy is a rare procedure in patients with locally invasive tumors involving the sacrum; it may be associated with functional loss, such as bowel and bladder dysfunction and gait abnormality. In this study the authors examined functional outcome following sacrectomy.

The authors reviewed the charts of 50 consecutive patients who had undergone sacrectomy between July 1993 and August 2002. There were 23 male and 27 female patients whose mean age was 46 years (range 13-86 years). Twelve patients with rectal cancer underwent a separate analysis. The patients without rectal cancer were divided into two groups: those who had undergone colostomy for bowel diversion (Group 1, six cases), and those who had not (Group 2, 32 cases). In Group 1 patients the median hospital length of stay (LOS) was 48.5 days (the 25th% and 75th percentiles are 26 and 58, respectively), and in Group 2 patients the median LOS was 18.5 days (the 25th and 75th percentiles are 8 and 41, respectively; p = 0.14). In Group 2 (non-rectal cancer without colostomy), LOS was greater in patients in whom a myocutaneous flap was used compared with those in whom no flap was used (36 days compared with 8.5 days, respectively; p = 0.0012); in patients with bowel incontinence the median LOS was significantly longer than that in patients with bowel continence (39 days compared with 8 days, respectively; p = 0.0026). The incidence of bowel incontinence in Group 2 was closely related to the integrity of the S-3 nerve root (p = 0.05).

Awareness of the association between S-3 nerve root resection and bowel and bladder incontinence may help surgeons' decision-making process.