Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of intracorporeal reinforcing sutures for preventing anastomotic leakage (AL) after laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer.
Methods: This was a retrospective single-institution study consisting of 201 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic proctectomy with double-stapling anastomosis for primary rectal cancer between August 2007 and December 2013. The data for patients who received intracorporeal reinforcing sutures were compared with those of patients who did not receive reinforcing sutures. Patient-, tumor- and surgery-related variables were collected and examined using univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results: The overall incidence of AL was 9.0% (18/201). No significant correlations were observed between the various clinicopathological factors and the use of reinforcing sutures. The multivariate analyses revealed the distance of the tumor from the anal verge, tumor size and presence of reinforcing sutures to be independent risk factors for AL. We classified the patients into two risk groups using a combination of the tumor site and tumor size: a low-risk group (patients without any risk factors, n = 134) and a high-risk group (patients with one or two risk factors, n = 67). The frequency of AL was significantly lower (p < 0.02) in the patients treated with reinforcing sutures than in those treated without reinforcing sutures in the high-risk group. However, no significant differences were observed in the low-risk group.
Conclusions: The use of intracorporeal reinforcing sutures may reduce the incidence of AL. A prospective randomized trial is required to evaluate the effects of reinforcing sutures in preventing AL.
Keywords: Anastomotic leakage; Laparoscopic surgery; Rectal cancer; Reinforcing suture.