Background and objectives: Previous study has reported that sarcopenia increases the risk of postoperative complications following open colorectal resection. The aim of this retrospective case-control study was to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic colorectal resection in patients with sarcopenia.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 60 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal resection for primary colorectal cancer between April 2012 and March 2015 at our institution. The patients were divided into two groups: sarcopenia group (normalized total psoas muscle area in males, <538 mm/m(2); in females, <346 mm/m(2); n = 20) and nonsarcopenia group (n = 40).
Results: No significant differences in the overall rate of postoperative complications (20% vs. 20%) or major postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo Grade III or more (5% vs. 5%) were observed between the patients in the sarcopenia and nonsarcopenia groups. Sarcopenia was not found to be a predictor of postoperative complications by univariate analysis.
Conclusion: Laparoscopic colorectal resection was feasible in patients with sarcopenia.