Reduced-port laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer: feasibility based on our early experience

We report our experience of a reduced-port laparoscopic surgery as an advanced laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer. Twelve selected patients with clinical T1-2 and N0 rectal cancer (clinical stage I) underwent low anterior resection of the rectum. The procedures were performed with one port plus a multiple-instrument access port with three channels. The multiple-instrument access port was placed at the umbilicus or the site of diverting stoma, and another port was placed in the right abdomen or in the opposite abdomen of ostomy. The median operative time and intraoperative bleeding were 280 min and 15 mL, respectively. The median number of harvested lymph nodes was 20. No major perioperative morbidities occurred in this series. The median postoperative hospital stay was 10 days. Low anterior resection performed by reduced-port laparoscopic surgery is feasible as multiport laparoscopic surgery, and it is a reliable surgical option in selected patients with rectal cancer.