Recurrence following stapled coloproctostomy for carcinomas of the mid portion of the rectum.

A retrospective analysis of 90 patients who underwent a curative surgical resection for a carcinoma of the middle third of the rectum was carried out to determine the preliminary recurrence rates associated with stapled coloproctostomy. Acknowledging the obvious limitations of this preliminary report, the liberal use of restorative resections for these lesions does not appear to be resulting in an obvious increase in tumor recurrence, and the use of the circular intraliminal staplers has significantly decreased the number of abdominoperineal resections required to treat these lesions. We will continue to use stapled coloproctostomy for the majority of these lesions; however, definitive statements regarding the over-all effect of this approach upon survival time await further studies incorporating larger numbers and longer follow-up studies.