Background: The use of a protective defunctioning stoma in rectal cancer surgery has been reported to reduce the rates of reoperation for anastomotic leakage, as well as mortality after surgery. However, a protective defunctioning stoma is not often used in cases other than low rectal cancer because of the need for stoma closure later, and hesitation by patients to have a stoma. We outline a novel and patient-friendly procedure with an excellent cosmetic outcome. This procedure uses the umbilical fossa for placement of a defunctioning ileostomy followed by a simple umbilicoplasty for ileostomy closure.
Patients and methods: This study included a total of 20 patients with low rectal cancer who underwent a laparoscopic low anterior resection with defunctioning ileostomy (10 cases with a conventional ileostomy in the right iliac fossa before March 2012, and 10 subsequent cases with ileostomy at the umbilicus) at the Jikei University Hospital in Tokyo from August 2011 to January 2013. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared: operative time, blood loss, length of hospital stay and postoperative complications of the initial surgery, as well as the stoma closure procedure.
Results: There were no differences between the groups in the median operative time for initial surgery (248 min vs. 344 min), median blood loss during initial surgery (0 ml vs. 115 ml), and median hospital stay after initial surgery (13 days vs. 16 days). Complication rates after the initial surgery were similar. There were no differences between the groups in median operative time for stoma closure (99 min vs. 102 min), median blood loss during stoma closure (7.5 ml vs. 10 ml), and median hospital stay after stoma closure (8 days in both groups). Complications after stoma closure such as wound infection and intestinal obstruction were comparable. Thus, no significant differences in any factor were found between the two groups.
Conclusion: The transumbilical protective defunctioning stoma is a novel solution to anastomotic leakage after laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery, with patient-friendliness as compared to conventional procedures in light of the cosmetic outcome.
Keywords: Defunctioning ileostomy; laparoscopic surgery; low anterior resection.