[Comparative characteristics of various types of operations performed in treatment of diffuse colonic polyposis]

Diffuse polyposis of the large intestine characterized by the development of multiple polyps in it and their subsequent malignant degeneration is one of the most severe disease of the gastrointestinal tract. That it must be treated by surgery needs no proof. However, the volume and the character of the surgical intervention on the large intestine is still a debatable problem. The article discusses the experience in the follow-up of 445 patients for periods of 12 months to 30 years after operation for diffuse polyposis. In 228 patients various segments of the large intestine which were free from polyps were not resected. During these follow-up periods malignant tumors developed in the preserved parts of the large intestine in 10.1% patients and intensive growth of polyps was encountered in 3.5% of patients. The frequency of carcinoma development depended significantly less on the length of the follow-up period and much more on the character of affection of the preserved parts of the large intestine with the polyps.