Oncological Impact of the Level of Inferior Mesenteric Artery Ligation in Low Rectal Cancer Surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of the level of inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) ligation in patients with advanced low rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All enrolled patients (n=350) underwent curative resection of rectal cancer with D3 lymph node dissection, with either IMA (high-tie) or superior rectal artery (SRA) (low-tie) ligation. RESULTS: There were 27 and 65 patients in the high-tie and low-tie groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the postoperative complication rate. Postoperative anastomotic leakage developed in five patients in the low-tie group and none in the high-tie group. The overall recurrence rates were 37.0% (n=10) and 40.0% (n=26) in the high-tie and low-tie groups, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.748). Local recurrences and lymph node metastases developed in five and no patients in the high-tie group and in 13 and one patient in the low-tie group, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, pathological T4 and pathological N2 and N3 were independent poor prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), whereas left colic artery (LCA) preservation was not significant. CONCLUSION: No significant difference in oncological outcomes was observed in advanced low rectal cancer surgery with respect to the level of the IMA ligation. Thus, the less complicated high-tie procedure should be adopted as a standard procedure.

Laparoscopic delayed and interval appendectomy in the workstyle reform era.

PURPOSE: Excessive working hours have been reported to contribute to burnout among surgeons. In Japan, work-style reform is a problem that needs immediate attention. Acute appendectomy, which often occurs at nighttime, is one of the most common emergency surgeries. The feasibility of delayed and interval appendectomy remains to be investigated. METHODS: Two hundred forty-five consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy in our hospital were enrolled. They were divided into three groups: emergency appendectomy (immediate surgery, soon after the diagnosis [EA group], n = 153), delayed appendectomy (surgery during daytime the following day [DA group], n = 38) and interval appendectomy (antibiotics treatment followed by selective surgery three to four months later [IA group], n = 54). The clinical background and surgical outcomes were compared. Next, the residents' excess working time per month was calculated. RESULTS: The surgical outcomes (operation time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, postoperative complications) were similar between the EA and DA groups. However, no DA was performed during nighttime hours whereas 15.7% of EA was performed during nighttime hours (p = 0.0007). The surgical outcomes of the IA group were also comparable. The residents' excess working time declined following the introduction of DA and workstyle reform. CONCLUSION: Delayed and interval laparoscopic appendectomy are feasible, and can be performed to promote workstyle reform without impairing patient safety.