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Surgical Approach and Complications of Stand-alone Lateral Trans-Psoas Interbody Fusion
Published on: February 14, 2025
Do psoas muscle area and volume correlate with postoperative complications in patients undergoing rectal cancer
Aaron L Womer1, Justin T Brady1, Kevin Kalisz2
1Department of Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Background:
Increasingly, patients with multiple co-morbidities undergo surgery for rectal cancer. We aimed to evaluate if decreased psoas muscle area and volume, as measures for sarcopenia, were associated with postoperative morbidity.
Methods:
Retrospective review of patients undergoing rectal cancer resection at a tertiary medical center (2007-2015). Variables included demographics, co-morbidities, preoperative psoas muscle area and volume, and postoperative complications.
Results:
Among 180 patients (58% male, mean age 62.7 years), 44% experienced complications (n = 79), of which 38% (n = 30) were major complications. Malnourished patients had smaller height-adjusted total psoas area than non-malnourished patients (6.4 vs. 9.5 cm2/m2, p = 0.004). Among patients with imaging obtained within 90 days of surgery, major morbidity was associated with smaller total psoas area (6.7 vs. 10.5 cm2/m2, p = 0.04) and total psoas volume (26.7 vs. 42.2 cm3/m2, p = 0.04) compared to those with minor complications.
Conclusion:
Preoperative cross-sectional imaging may help surgeons anticipate postoperative complications following rectal cancer surgery.
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