[The surgical treatment of rectal cancer]

Analysis was made of the case records of 1307 patients operated for rectal cancer--788 (60.3 per cent) men and 519 (39.7 per cent) women. Most common was the disease in the age group 50 to 75 years. The operations performed were: radical--879 (67.3 per cent) and palliative--428 (32.7 per cent). Of all radically operated patients, in 532 (60.5 per cent) the rectum was extirpated. Mortality in this group was 10.9 per cent. Abdominal resection was performed in 235 patients (26.7 per cent) with 8.9 per cent mortality. In 70 patients (8 per cent) sphincter-preserving type Babcock or Toupet operations were performed with case fatality rate about 14 per cent. Of all 1307 patients in the near postoperative period 112 died (8.5 per cent). The authors give preference to low anterior resection to other type of sphincter-preserving operations.