Evaluations of laparoscopic proctocolectomy versus traditional technique in patients with rectal cancer.

Background: This was a retrospective study that evaluated the surgical outcomes of laparoscopic surgery (LS) for rectal cancer, in comparison with a case control series of open surgery (OS), during an 8-year period.

Methodology: Between October 1998 and December 2006, 203 patients with rectal malignancies underwent colectomy; 146 of them had colectomy with the traditional technique (OS), while 57 underwent resection of rectal cancer laparoscopically (LS). The LS group was compared with 60 patients from the OS group (selected from the 146 OS group patients), matched by size, sex, age, anatomical location of the tumor, type, extent of resection, and pathological stage.