Peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis after laparoscopic-assisted anterior resection for early rectal cancer: report of a case.

Minimally invasive colon surgery has been shown to be both technically feasible and a safe alternative to laparotomy. Its efficacy for the curative resection of colorectal cancer, however, remains controversial. Of major concern are the increasing reports of port-site recurrence after use of laparoscopic techniques in malignant disease. In this article a heretofore unreported complication of peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis after laparoscopic-assisted anterior resection for early stage rectal cancer is presented. Isolated peritoneal recurrence is rare after curative resection of Stage I rectal cancer. The effect of pneumoperitoneum on tumor dissemination is discussed.