Partial sacrectomy for en bloc excision of rectal cancer with posterior fixation

A procedure for resection of the lower sacrum in patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum is described. The indication for this procedure is posterior fixation of a tumor to sacral segments three, four, or five or to the coccyx. Through a posterior incision, the sacrum below S2 is removed with no appreciable increase in morbidity of the abdominoperineal resection. Six patients treated to date have had good results using this approach.