Colorectal video-assisted surgery in Uruguay, then of 106 cases

Abstract

The advent of laparoscopic surgery has had a huge impact on gastrointestinal surgery in the past 20 years. Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is undoubtedly the most important technical development of
the past 15 years, and will very likely have a significant impact on surgical training and on the results of this surgery. In recent years, significant events have happened in the history of surgery that have led us to develop new concepts, new terms, and different ways of performing the same techniques.

In this paper we try to show our experience in laparoscopic colorectal surgery, mainly referring to the technical aspects, tools and our results in the short and medium term with this type of approach for colorectal disease. We have done 106 laparoscopic colorectal surgeries, 63 men and 43 women were operated since November 2007 to March 2014. In the last 4 years an average of 22 patients were operated per year. Our series presents a suture failure rate of 4.72% and an operative mortality of 3.7%. The average patient follow-up was 22 months, with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 59 months. Overall survival in the series was 96.9%, with a median survival of 56.7 months (CI: 54.3 to 59.2 months) and disease free survival of 90.7% with a half off due to illness 52.2 months (CI: 48.2 to 56.3 months).
Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is feasible and safe, with figures similar to those presented in series worldwide, both in laparotomic and laparoscopic surgery, as well as in cancer morbidity radical resections.