Comparison of functional outcome of colonic J-pouch and latero-terminal anastomosis in low anterior resection for rectal cancer.

Introduction: Functional results after low anterior resection for rectal cancer are an issue of increasing attention among colorectal surgeons and others interested in this subject. The consensus on ideal reconstruction type has not been achieved to date, although the number of papers on this subject has been published in recent years.

Objective: We conducted a prospective, parallel group study comparing latero-terminal with colonic J-pouch anastomosis in terms of defecatory function in patients undergoing stapled low colorectal/ coloanal anastomosis.

Methods: A total of 80 patients were included in this study with either latero-terminal or colonic J-pouch anastomosis. Defecatory function was evaluated using the modified version of MSKCC questionnaire 6, 12 and 24 months after the operation. Fecal continence was evaluated using the Wexner continence score.

Results: In both groups, trend towards improvement was registered in all measured variables in all three control intervals. This can apply to bowel frequency, urgency, night soiling, fragmentation and incomplete evacuation. However, the difference was not statistically significant, and when reviewing the trend of results we can note that in the J-pouch group steady state has not been reached even after 24 month control.

Conclusion: This trial did not reveal any significant differences in defecatory function 6, 12 and 24 months after low anterior resection (LAR) between patients with a latero-terminal anastomosis and those with colonic J-pouch anastomosis. Our results did not confirm superiority of colonic J-pouch over the latero-terminal anastomosis