Carcinoma obstructing the left side of the colon

The clinical course, operative treatment, and results of 129 patients with carcinoma obstructing the left side of the colon were reviewed. There were 64 cases of incomplete obstruction, all secondary to primary adenocarcinoma of the colon. Sixty-five patients had complete obstruction; 37 of these had primary adenocarcinoma of the colon, and the rest, cancer from other primary sites, largely the genitourinary tract. The operations involving colostomy only or colostomy as part of a staged resection resulted in high operative mortality and low long-term survival, in addition to a high rate of postoperative sepsis. Results of operations involving primary resection of obstructing tumor were superior in all the above factors studied.