Pelvic exenteration is potentially curative for operable locally advanced primary and locally recurrent rectal cancers. R0 resection is associated with higher survival. This procedure is associated with low mortality rates but high postoperative morbidity proportional to the extent of resection. This study was done to find out the survival outcome and morbidity associated with this procedure and to determine prognostic factors associated with postoperative outcomes. Seventy-three patients with rectal cancer underwent pelvic exenteration between January 2009 and December 2020. Sixty-six patients had locally advanced rectal cancer and 7 patients had recurrent cancer. All patients with primary tumors were evaluated with MRI pelvis and CT scan of the chest and abdomen while patients with recurrence were evaluated with a PET scan. The median follow-up duration was 39 months. The majority of patients were in the age group 40-69 years. Thirty patients were males and 43 were females. The 30-day postoperative major morbidity was reported in 28 patients (38.4%). The most common morbidity was wound dehiscence. The mean overall survival (OS) was 110.6 months (95% CI, 97.5-123.7) and mean disease free survival (DFS) was 85 months (95% CI, 71.0-100.4). R0 resection was associated with favorable overall survival. Tailored exenterations were associated with low morbidity. En bloc partial sacrectomy helped achieve R0 resection in patients who underwent the procedure. Extended resections yielded high R0 resection rates with favorable survival (65 months) but were associated with high morbidity. These procedures shall be best practiced in high-volume institutes of expertise.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13193-024-01918-w.
Keywords: Partial sacrectomy; Pelvic exenteration; Rectal cancer.
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