[Postoperative complications after rectal cancer surgery and management]

Although neoadjuvant treatment such as radiotherapy, even chemoradiotherapy has already widely used in middle-low rectal cancer, surgery remains the mainstay of therapy for patients with rectal cancer. Because neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy combined with surgery was adopted for the locally advanced rectal cancer as a standard treatment based on guidelines, postoperative complications of rectal cancer surgery caused surgeons attention and concern gradually. Some severe complications should seriously affect patient's quality of life, even patient's survival. Therefore, surgeons should be fully aware of the severity of complications, and try to avoid the occurrence of complications. Thoroughly knowing the significance of comprehensive treatment in rectal cancer, meanwhile, realizing associated complications following rectal cancer operation, and choosing reasonable, standard, effective and economic management will result in obvious increase of therapeutic level in rectal cancer surgery in China. Through the literature review combined with our clinical experience, this paper analyzes the reasons of seven associated complications, including intra-operational bleeding, bladder damage, postoperative anastomotic leakage, rectovaginal fistula, postoperative bleeding, postoperative ileus, postoperative anastomotic stenosis and anterior resection syndrome, and shares the managements in order to provide more references to surgeons.