Rectal carcinoma: a new technique to allow safer postoperative irradiation of the pelvis

Local recurrence after abdomino-perineal excision of the rectum for Dukes C carcinoma is common. The influence of postoperative radiotherapy in reducing this is currently under investigation, and one of the potential complications is radiation damage to the small bowel. This paper describes a simple and quick method of excluding the small bowel from the pelvis which, combined with more sophisticated radiation field planning, could dramatically reduce the incidence of enteric effects.