Incidence and treatment of positive pelvic sidewall lymph nodes in patients with rectal cancer.

AIM: The involvement of pelvic sidewall (PSW) lymph nodes in rectal cancer is a marker of locally advanced disease and poor prognosis. Eastern countries generally advocate lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) over the Western approach of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and more limited surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate how these advanced cancers were treated in three UK Health Boards. METHODOLOGY: This was a retrospective review of three colorectal multidisciplinary team meetings from 2008 to 2016. All patients with rectal cancer and suspicious PSW lymph nodes on pretreatment MRI were included. RESULTS: There were 153 (6.2%) patients who met the inclusion criteria from a total of 2461 diagnosed rectal cancers. There was significant variability between the three centres with surgical intervention ranging from 59.2% to 84.4%, P = 0.015. There were 81 patients who had neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy prior to surgery; of these 67 (82.7%) still had positive PSW nodes on the restaging MRI, but only 13 (19.4%) had LLND. There was no difference in local recurrence (15.3% vs 11.8%, P = 0.66), 5-year overall survival (69.2% vs 80.1%, P = 0.16) or 5-year disease-free survival (69.2% vs 79.4%, P = 0.72) between patients having LLND and those receiving standard neoadjuvant treatment followed by total mesorectal excision surgery. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that rectal cancer patients with PSW positive nodal disease have advanced disease, mostly of the lower rectum, and receive a highly heterogeneous spectrum of therapies, even within a relatively small geographical area. Greater accuracy in our preoperative staging is needed to select those patients who will benefit from LLND surgery.

Quality-of-life outcomes following pelvic exenteration for primary rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: For patients with locally advanced tumours and contiguous organ involvement, pelvic exenteration (PE) can offer cure with relatively low mortality. The literature surrounding quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing PE is limited. Furthermore, there are no matched comparisons of QoL between abdominoperineal resection (APR) and PE. The aim of this study was to compare differences in long-term QoL for patients with primary rectal cancer undergoing APR versus PE. METHODS: All patients who underwent either APR or PE between January 2011 and December 2012 were identified. Patients were asked to complete the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 questionnaire before surgery and 2 weeks afterwards. Subsequent questionnaires were requested at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after operation. RESULTS: A total of 110 patients were included in the study (54 APR, 56 PE). Median length of stay following operation was 11 (range 3-70) days for APR and 15 (7-84) days for PE. Patients undergoing PE experienced lower physical (mean score 42 versus 56; P = 0.010), role (20 versus 33; P = 0.047), emotional (57 versus 73; P = 0.010) and social (34 versus 52; P = 0.005) functional levels 2 weeks after surgery. Long-term dyspnoea and financial worries were experienced only after PE. Patients undergoing PE had a lower overall global health status at 2 weeks after operation (40 versus 53; P = 0.012). Levels were comparable between groups from 3 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: QoL recovery following PE was equivalent to that after APR alone. Patients should not be denied exenterative surgery based on perceived poor QoL.

Permanent stoma rates: a misleading marker of quality in rectal cancer surgery.

AIM: The latest National Bowel Cancer Audit Programme (NBOCAP) audit identified our colorectal unit as an outlier with regard to the high permanent stoma rate. The aim of this study was to perform an audit of the rationale for stoma formation in patients undergoing rectal cancer resection in our unit. METHOD: A review was conducted of all rectal cancer operations between April 2011 and March 2013. Preoperative staging investigations and operation reports were reviewed to identify the reasons for nonrestorative surgery. Postoperative histology reports were used to identify circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement and tumour height. RESULTS: One-hundred and twenty-five patients underwent surgery for rectal cancer, of whom 102 underwent elective resection with curative intent. The permanent stoma rate was 63.2% when emergency and palliative procedures were included and 54.9% when only elective curative cases were considered. Tertiary referrals made up 31.4% of elective cases. The main reasons for nonrestorative surgery included multivisceral resection (n = 24) for locally advanced cancer and operations for lesions close to the anal sphincter (n = 21). The median length of stay was 8 days, the 90-day mortality was 2.9% and the rate of CRM involvement was 2.0%. CONCLUSION: Our unit provides multivisceral surgery for locally advanced rectal cancer and receives a substantial number of tertiary referrals. Many of the rectal cancers referred are locally advanced or threaten the anal sphincter. This study demonstrates that the complexity of a unit's case-mix can have a profound effect on the permanent stoma rate. Stoma rates taken at face value do not therefore provide an accurate representation of surgical quality. What does this paper add to the literature? The study reviews the practice of a colorectal surgical unit with an interest in multivisceral surgery with regard to the permanent stoma rate. The reasons for nonrestorative surgery are analysed, and the problems associated with the use of stoma rates as a marker of quality in colorectal surgery are highlighted.

Variations in surgical management from a national bowel cancer screening programme.

OBJECTIVE: Population screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) was introduced to Wales in October 2008. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early impact of screening on CRC services. DESIGN: Prospectively collected data from the Bowel Screening Wales (BSW) programme and the Welsh Bowel Cancer Audit (WBCA) were used to identify all screen-detected (SD) CRC diagnoses in Wales between April 2009 and March 2011. Data from the WBCA were used to calculate surgical outcomes. RESULTS: 444 SD cancers were registered during the study period representing 11% of all CRC diagnoses. There was a 9.9% increase in CRC incidence following the introduction of the BSW. SD patients presented with earlier stage disease; SD Dukes' A 35.1% vs 13.9% symptomatic patients (p<0.001) and SD Dukes' D 7.4% vs 21.8% symptomatic, (p<0.001). There were more colonic cancers among the SD population (p<0.001). The resection rate for SD cancers was 89%, significantly higher than symptomatic cancers (67.7%; p<0.0001). There was variability in the use of polypectomy as a definitive procedure to treat CRC between units. Overall laparoscopic resection was used in 52% of cases but with considerable interunit variability (0-92%). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of screening has increased the workload of the colorectal multidisciplinary teams in Wales. This has occurred through both an increase in case volume and the identification of more patients with early stage disease. There is considerable interunit variability in the use of techniques of local excision and rates of laparoscopic resection that need to be addressed.

A systematic review of peripheral nerve injury following laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

AIM: The risk of peripheral nerve injury associated with laparoscopic colorectal surgery has not been well established. We aimed to identify the number and type of peripheral nerve injuries associated with patient positioning in laparoscopic surgery. METHOD: A systematic review of MEDLINE and Embase was undertaken of English and non-English language articles. Search terms included the key words: laparoscopic, colorectal, nerve injury, nerve damage, brachial plexus, peripheral neuropathy, peripheral nerve injury, nerve and colonic injury. Articles were included where at least one peripheral nerve injury had been documented related to patient positioning at laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Data extraction for articles was conducted by two authors, using predefined data fields. RESULTS: Ten cases have been reported in the literature. All injuries involved the brachial plexus. They were associated with a lengthy procedure and abduction of the arm. CONCLUSION: Although rare, the surgeon and theatre team must be aware of the risk of peripheral nerve injury when positioning patients for laparoscopic colorectal procedures.

Small bowel trans-vaginal evisceration following vault biopsy: general surgeons beware!

A case-report of vaginal evisceration following vault biopsy is described. This case highlights the importance of good surgical technique when performing a vaginal biopsy in order to avoid this rare, but life-threatening, complication. General surgeons may well be faced with this acute presentation and prompt management is vital in order to preserve the involved small bowel.