Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis in laparoscopic right hemicolectomy - single center experience

Nowadays laparoscopic right hemicolectomy is widely accepted as the standard of care for benign and malignant colon disease. There are wide variations among laparoscopic techniques. One of the most discussed topics is the ileocolic anastomosis. There are two different techniques: intracorporeal anastomosis (IA) and extracorporeal anastomosis (EA).

To compare short-term outcomes of performing intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis in laparoscopic right hemicolectomy.

A retrospective chart review was performed of 92 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic right hemicolectomy, with either an IA or EA, from January 2013 to December 2016.

Eighty-five patients were included in the analysis. There were 53 males and 32 females with a mean age of 67.1 ±13.2 years. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.7 ±4.8 kg/m². An intracorporeal anastomosis was performed in 51 patients, while an extracorporeal anastomosis was performed in 34. The duration of operations was significantly longer when intracorporeal anastomosis was performed, taking 154 ±58 min compared to 95 ±34 min (p < 0.001), in the extracorporeal group. No mortality was observed in the IA group. The postoperative mortality in the EA group was 8.8% (p = 0.060). The rate of reoperation in the intracorporeal anastomosis group was 7.8%, whereas in the extracorporeal anastomosis group it was 14.7% (p = 0.474). Length of hospital stay in the IA group was shorter in comparison to the EA group (5.3 ±3.7 vs. 11.2 ±19.8 days, p = 0.022).

Our results are encouraging to consider the intracorporeal approach as the better way to fashion the anastomosis after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy.