Management of benign villous adenomas of the entire rectum

While villous adenomas of the rectum are common, they rarely encompass the entire rectum to the dentate line. It is even more unusual to find a tumor of this size to be benign. Fluid and electrolyte deficits associated with this tumor add to the difficulty in management. The experienced surgeon should be aware of the various modes of treatment and be able safely to use the appropriate operation. It is as grave an injustice to the patient to treat a benign lesion as a malignancy as it is to remove the rectum for a benign villous adenoma.