Anastomotic Recurrences and Five- Year Survival Rate after Low Anterior Resection for Cure in 128 Patients with Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Of the 541 patients with cancer of the rectum admitted over an eight-year period 253 had an abdomino-perineal excision and 156 a low anterior resection. In the 128 resections for cure the frequency of anastomotic recurrences was 3.1 per cent. The crude five-year survival rate was 66.5 per cent and the relative five-year survival rate 78.7 per cent. These results were obtained in spite of most resections performed only 5–10 cm below the tumor and in spite of the routine use of preoperative intestinal asepsis which reportedly increases the incidence of suture line recurrences.

Key-words:

• Anastomotic recurrence
• intestinal asepsis
• rectal cancer
• survival