Colorectal cancer: Laparoscopic versus open surgery

Abstract

Many studies have suggested that laparoscopic surgery is superior to open surgery. However, the acceptance of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer has been rather slow in clinical practice. The present study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic versus open surgery for colorectal cancers. A randomised control trial was conducted including 100 patients of colorectal cancer who were randomly divided into two groups: 50 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal surgery (Group A) and 50 patients who had undergone conventional open colorectal surgery (Group B). Patient's clinico-pathological characteristics, hospital stay, postoperative morbidity and mortality and short-term oncological outcomes including pathological staging were compared. The results showed that the operation time was significantly longer in Laparoscopy group when compared with open surgery group (p< 0.05). Total amount of blood loss was significantly higher in Group B when compared with Group A. Despite the similar stay in intensive care unit, total hospital stay was significantly longer for open surgery group than laparoscopy group (p< 0.05). No significant difference was seen between two groups regarding post-op complications (p> 0.05). These findings indicated that laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer had the clear advantages of a minimally invasive surgery and relative disadvantage with longer surgery time and exhibited similar pathologic parameters compared with open surgery.