Laparoscopic proctectomy for rectal cancer in an automated peritoneal dialysis patient: A case report

There is little evidence to support the safety of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in restarting immediately after abdominal surgery. It is also unclear whether early recovery of PD in minimally invasive abdominal surgery reduces the risk of complications. This is the first case report of laparoscopic proctectomy in a patient on PD.

A 66-year-old female patient with end-stage renal disease underwent daily automated peritoneal dialysis. Colonoscopy in the patient suggested rectal cancer. After laparoscopic rectum resection, restart PD on post-operative day 2. Two weeks after the operation, the patient's surgical wound healed well and renal function recovered to the same as before, and the original PD plan was maintained without obvious discomfort.

Multiple other case reports have shown that PD has been safely resumed after various operations. However, PD patients undergoing abdominal surgery may cause serious complications. Maybe the peritoneal dialysis restores immediately after surgery should consider some conditions.

We think that it may be safe for PD patients to continue to maintain PD after laparoscopic rectum resection without the need for temporary hemodialysis transition. More cases will be collected in the future to consolidate this conclusion and provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of similar cases in the future.