Background: A diverting stoma (DS) has been constructed for many patients with low anterior resection (LAR), but it is still controversial whether DS can prevent anastomotic leakages. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of anastomotic leakage including DS construction, and to evaluate the clinical course affected by DS according to the necessity of urgent abdominal reoperation for anastomotic leakage.
Patients and methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 329 middle or lower rectal cancer patients who underwent LAR with mechanical reconstruction using circular staplers. Clinical data were collected from five cancer centers in Japan.
Results: The overall anastomotic leakage rate was 10.0% (33 of 329). We experienced one mortality in this series (0.3%; 1/329). Clinical factors associated with DS construction included tumor location, operation time, intraoperative bleeding, lateral lymph node dissection, simultaneous resection of other organs, and the level of anastomosis, respectively. On univariate analysis, high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery had a significantly high leakage rate, but not on multivariate analysis. DS construction had no connection with the overall leakage rate. Concerning the clinical course affected by DS, the frequency of urgent reoperation was significantly increased in patients without DS compared with those with DS, 11.1% and 54.2%, respectively (p = 0.04).
Conclusions: LAR was the safe and preferred option for rectal cancer patients with very low mortality and an acceptable leakage rate. DS did not have a relationship with overall anastomotic leakage, but did seem to mitigate its consequences and reduce the requirement for urgent abdominal reoperation.