[Postoperative leakage of rectal cancer after EEA stapled anastomoses--analysis of 196 cases].

A retrospective analysis was conducted in 196 consecutive patients who received restorative resection for rectal cancer with EEA stapled anastomoses between 1983 and 1987, and with no proximal protective colostomy or any previous surgical treatment. The data of each case, including age, sex, body weight, tumor location, operative time and blood loss, were analyzed statistically between postoperative leakage group and the non-leakage group. The details of EEA instrumentation included the completeness of donut tissue, presentation of intraoperative leakage and hand-sewn anastomotic repairment. There were three (1.5%) cases of operative mortality. The anastomosis-related complications were 13 cases of imperfect EEA donut, eleven cases of intraoperative leakage and seven cases of post-operative leakage. Significant differences were found between the two groups, as shown by the Mean-Whitney U test and Chi-square test, in blood loss, tumor location, operative method and instrumentation of EEA stapler.