Open colectomy versus laparoscopic-assisted colectomy supported by hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy for resectable colorectal cancer: a comparative study with minimum follow-up of three years.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery is not widely used for several reasons especially for concerning inadequate resection, recent data showed equivalent oncologic outcomes between open colectomy (OC) and laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC). However, there is no clinical trial for the LAC supported by hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC), named as LAC/HALC.
METHODOLOGY: Patients were assigned to either OC or LAC/HALC group. Clinical data, operation times, conversion rates from LAC to HALC, complications, early results, and long-term results were analyzed retrospectively.
RESULTS: The short-term outcomes including pain, ambulation, oral resumption, wound infections, and hospital stays were favorable for LAC/HALC group. HALC was subsequently required in seven LAC cases but none of them required open colectomies. Functional recovery was the benchmark for early discharge for LAC/HALC group. Specimen size and number of lymph nodes harvested were similar. Local recurrence, disease-free and overall survival rates were comparable.
CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrated that LAC/HALC was associated with favorable recoveries even in oncologic clearance in the long-term follow-up. HALC reduces the conversion rate from LAC to OC and maintains the benefits of minimal invasive surgery. Therefore, we suggest LAC/HALC is a suitable surgical hybrid for the treatment of resectable colorectal cancers.