Objective recovery time with end-to-side versus side-to-side anastomosis after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for colon cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Despite reports of the short-term benefits of end-to-side versus side-to-side anastomosis, we are aware of no prospective studies in which these methods were compared. We hypothesized the superiority of end-to-side over side-to-side anastomosis in terms of recovery after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for colon cancer under an enhanced recovery program.

Methods: From September 2016 to August 2019, 130 patients were randomly allocated to receive end-to-side or side-to-side anastomosis at a single tertiary hospital in Korea. The primary outcome was the cumulative recovery rate seven days after surgery, defined as the percentage of patients who met all four recovery criteria: diet tolerance, no analgesia, safe ambulation, and an afebrile status. Student's t test, the Mann-Whitney U test, the χ test, and Fisher's exact test were used to compare variables, as applicable.

Results: The cumulative recovery rate at seven days did not differ between patients receiving end-to-side (92.3%, 60/65) or side-to-side anastomosis (92.3%, 60/65; P ≥ 0.999). The end-to-side and side-to-side groups had similar cumulative recovery rates at postoperative days 4, 5, and 6 (end-to-side vs. side-to-side: 41.5% vs 35.4%, P = 0.589; 73.8% vs 63.1%, P = 0.257; and 86.2% vs 81.5%, P = 0.634, respectively). None of the secondary endpoints differed for end-to-side vs. side-to-side anastomosis: the median length of postoperative hospitalization (5 [IQR 5-7] vs. 6 [IQR 5-7] days, respectively, P = 0.376), the 30-day complication rate (16.9% vs. 12.3%, respectively, P = 0.620), the enhanced recovery protocol failure rate (10.8% vs. 7.7%, respectively, P = 0.763), and the 30-day readmission rate (4.6% vs. 3.1%, respectively, P ≥ 0.999).

Conclusions: End-to-side anastomosis was not superior to side-to-side anastomosis in terms of recovery criteria after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy. These findings do not provide evidence for a functional advantage of end-to-side compared to side-to-side anastomosis.