[Anastomotic recurrence following colorectal cancer]

Reported in this paper are 22 patients with recurrence of anastomosis, following curative resection of colorectal carcinoma. Recurrence in all cases was diagnosed by colonoscopy. Seventy-five per cent of all patients under follow-up care were without symptoms, and 83 per cent underwent intended radical surgery to cope with their recurrence. Curative re-operations were followed by mean survival of 39.4 months, while the five year survival rate amounted to 44 per cent. Hence, the prognosis of recurrence at the suture line appeared to be better than that of colorectal carcinoma recurrences localised elsewhere.