[Colorectal polyps. Treatment and clinical course]

We report the results of the treatment and follow up of 61 patients with polyps of the colon and rectum, who underwent surgical intervention between 1983 through 1991. The mean age was 56 years (range from 41 to 56 y.) and 53% of the patients were males. The majority of the polyps were located in the anorectal region, n = 32 (52.4%) and sigmoid colon n = 17 (27.8%). Tubular adenomas in n = 38 patients and villous adenoma in n = 19, were the most frequent histological types. We have found polyps with invasive carcinoma in 15 (24.6%) cases. The polyps were resected by transanal resection in 15 patients, by colectomies in 11, and 10 patients underwent colectomy for removal of their polyps. Surgery was indicated when the polyp had a base too wide to be removed by colonoscopy or when malignancy was demonstrated by biopsy. There were 10 (19.6%) recurrences during the first three years of follow up. The histological examination showed malignant changes in 4 polyps. Villous adenomas, n = 7 constituted the histological type with more recurrences. Recurrences were treated by local resection in half of the cases. The morbidity was 9.8% and mortality was 3.3%. Surgery when indicated, allows to obtain free margins from tumor, to determine lymph node involvement and to establish the stage.