Postoperative morbidity after fast-track laparoscopic resection of rectal cancer

Analysis was carried out of the nature and chronological order of early complications after fast-track laparoscopic rectal surgery with a view to optimizing the short-time outcome of rectal cancer surgery.

A total of 102 consecutive patients who underwent elective fast-track laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery were analysed prospectively from the Danish Colorectal Cancer Database supplemented by data from the medical records. We studied in detail the nature and chronological order of postoperative morbidity and reason for prolonged stay (> 5 days).

Twenty-five patients (25%) had one or more complications. Surgical complications occurred in 19 patients, while six patients had medical complications as the primary event. Fifteen patients underwent reoperation, three died, and eight were readmitted within 30 days. The median length of stay was 5 days (range 2-42).

Postoperative morbidity remains a significant problem in the fast-track era, even in experienced surgical hands. Our results suggest that besides improvement of surgical technique further improvement of outcome lies in early recognition and proper treatment of complications and the perioperative optimization of organ function.