Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery for Right-Side Colon Cancer

There are little data concerning the long-term outcome of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) for colon cancer. Therefore, we investigated not only the short-term outcomes but also the long-term outcomes of SILS for right-side colon cancer.

We retrospectively compared short- and long-term outcomes of SILS and conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS) for right-sided colon cancer in our institution. Intergroup differences of short-term outcomes were evaluated using χ2 or Fisher exact tests and 2-sample Student t tests. The disease-free survival rates (long-term outcome) of stage II and III patients were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log-rank tests.

There were 290 operations conducted for right-side (cecum and ascending) colorectal cancers from April 2011 to July 2018. Open surgery was performed in 12 cases from start to the operation. SILS was performed in 196 cases and CLS in 55 cases. One patient underwent intraoperative conversion from SILS to laparotomy for bleeding control. In addition, 1 port was added to SILS in 3 cases. These 4 cases were included in the analysis as the SILS group according to the principle of intent to treat.

Factors including age, gender, body mass index, performance status, and tumor stage were not statistically different between the SILS and CLS groups. In short-term outcomes, the number of harvested lymph nodes was not statistically different. SILS required less operating time (p < 0.001) and resulted in a reduced bleeding volume (p < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in the frequency of overall complications (p = 0.06). The disease-free survival of stage II and III patients was not statistically different between the 2 groups.

With the proper adaptation of SILS by an experienced surgeon, the short- and long-term outcomes of SILS were not inferior to those of CLS. Therefore, SILS could be a treatment option for right-sided colon cancer.