Pelvic Exenteration with En Bloc Excision of the Common or External Iliac Veins: To Reconstruct or Not?

En bloc resection of major pelvic sidewall neurovascular structures during pelvic exenteration is now deemed safe and oncologically feasible. This study aimed to evaluate the surgical, oncological, and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes of patients who underwent en bloc common iliac or external iliac vein (CIV/EIV) resection during pelvic exenteration with and without venous reconstruction.

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent en bloc CIV/EIV resection during pelvic exenteration at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney (January 1994-July 2024). The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (FACT-C) questionnaire was used to evaluate QoL.

Of 76 patients included in this study, 41 underwent venous reconstruction and 35 did not (recon vs. non-recon groups). There were no statistically significant differences in surgical (including vascular-specific complications), oncological (R0), and QoL outcomes between groups. The non-recon group had increased major complications (42.9% vs. 36.6%) and length of hospital stay (28 vs. 22 days) but reduced estimated blood loss (3000 vs. 4500 mL). The non-recon group had superior median total FACT-C scores at 6- (102 vs. 100) and 12-month intervals (107 vs. 99.6).

Selected patients undergoing en bloc CIV/EIV excision without reconstruction may experience similar surgical, oncological, and QoL outcomes as those with reconstruction. When the CIV/EIV is resected, ligation without reconstruction can be performed safely in selected patients where there is evidence of chronic venous outflow obstruction and collateralization.