Early Postoperative Complications following a Resection for Colorectal Cancer

Park, In Ja; Kim, Hee Cheol; Yu, Chang Sik; Kim, Jin Cheon

Abstract

PURPOSE: Understanding of early postoperative course is very important for planning of operation and postoperative management. However, reports regarding early postoperative complications following colorectal cancer surgery are rare. The aim of this study was to report the incidence of immediate postoperative complications associated with colorectal cancer surgery.
METHODS
This prospective study examined clinicopathological data on 869 patients who underwent a resection for colorectal cancer between November 2002 and October 2003. Patients who underwent a palliative stoma, bypass, or emergent operation were excluded. Early postoperative complications were defined as complications occurring within 30 days of surgery. The male-to-female ratio was 518:351, and the mean age was 59 (range, 18~90) years.
RESULTS
The tumor was located at right colon in 176, at left colon in 169, and at rectum in 510 patients. In 158 patients (18.2%), at least one postoperative complication occurred. The most common complication was ileus (5.5%), followed by wound complication (4.1%), the voiding disturbance (3.3%), anastomotic bleeding (1.4%), anastomotic leakage (1.1%), and bleeding (0.6%). The complication rate was 21.6% in patients with right colon cancer, 16% in those with left colon cancer, and 17.3% in those with rectal cancer. Ileus occurred on mean postoperative day 8 and required a mean of 12 days for resolution. The wound complications occurred on mean postoperative day 9 and were resolved after a mean of 10 days. Of the 8 anastomotic leakage patients, proximal stoma construction was required in 5 patients. Intra-luminal bleeding occurred most common in patients with right colon cancer. Higher frequency of postoperative complications occurred in male patients (P=0.008), patients older than 70 years (P=0.02), and patients with co-morbid medical conditions (P=0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
The overall early postoperative complication rate following colorectal cancer surgery was 18.2%. The postoperative complication rate was higher in male, elderly, and patients with co-morbid medical conditions. Our results have allowed us to identify major complications and to better understand the postoperative course in patients undergoing colorectal cancer resections.