Laparoscopic versus open ileostomy closure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of postoperative outcomes

This study aims to compare laparoscopic versus open in ileostomy reversal techniques from multiple perspectives and to gain insight into the potential advantages and limitations of laparoscopic techniques and provide guidance on finding the best anastomosis for ileostomy reversal.

This systematic review and meta-analysis has been pre-registered with PROSPERO. The registration number is CRD42025640754. A rigorous literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of overall postoperative complications, and the secondary outcomes included operative time, estimated blood loss, and the length hospital stay.

This research included 11 studies with a total of 867 cases, showing that the laparoscopic surgery group had a significantly lower overall complication rate compared to the open surgery group (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.27-0.59, P < 0.00001). Further investigation of specific postoperative complications revealed that laparoscopic surgery significantly reduced the risk of bowel obstruction (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.18-0.83, P = 0.01) and wound infection (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.23-0.73, P = 0.003), with no significant difference observed for anastomotic leaks (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.11-1.43, P = 0.16). Although laparoscopic surgery required a longer operative time (P = 0.002), it resulted in significantly shorter hospital stays (P < 0.00001) and did not increase estimated blood loss (P = 0.50). In addition, both extracorporeal laparoscopic surgery and intracorporeal laparoscopic surgery can effectively reduce the occurrence of postoperative complications and shorten the length of hospital stay compared with open surgery.

Laparoscopic-assisted ileostomy closure (both intracorporeal and extracorporeal techniques) demonstrates significant clinical benefits, including reduced postoperative complication rates, shortened hospitalization duration, and optimized recovery trajectories.