High Level Sacral Bone Resection for Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Background/aim: Locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) involving the upper sacrum is generally considered a contraindication for curative surgery. In the surgical management of LRRC, sacrectomy is frequently performed to secure clear resection margins. Nonetheless, the indications for high sacrectomy remain controversial due to potential postoperative complications, questions about radicality, and the increased complexity of the operation. Furthermore, comprehensive studies addressing this issue are notably absent. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and surgical prognosis in high sacrectomy for LRRC.

Patients and methods: All patients with LRRC who required concomitant sacrectomy, but did not include the inferior margin of the second sacral vertebra, between 2003 and 2014, were reviewed retrospectively.

Results: Eight patients with a median age of 59 years were included in this study. The proximal resection line for sacral bone resection was the central part of the S1 vertebra in one patient, lower edge of the S1 vertebra in six patients, and central part of the S2 vertebra in one patient. Negative margin resection was achieved in five out of the eight patients. The median operative time was 922 min, and the median operative blood loss volume was 6,370 ml. Major complications included pelvic abscess (n=5), ileus (n=1), and pulmonary vein embolism (n=1), none of which proved fatal during the postoperative period. Both the 5-year local re-recurrence-free survival rate and the 5-year distant metastasis-free survival rate were 50% (4/8).

Conclusion: High sacrectomy is safe and feasible to achieve negative margins in patients with LRRC.

Keywords: Rectal cancer; complications; high sacrectomy; local re-recurrence-free survival rate; local recurrence.