Total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis in surgical management of toxic megacolon.

Twenty-five patients with toxic megacolon are reported. The most frequent etiology of this syndrome was ulcerative colitis and the main complication colonic perforation. Toxic dilatation generally involved the transverse colon. Twenty patients were treated by a surgical procedure, namely two enterostomies and eighteen colectomies. A total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis was performed in ten patients. Mortality for the whole series was 32%, but was reduced to 14% in the last 4 years. There were no deaths and no complications needing surgical management in the group of patients treated by total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis. However, the method resulted in one failure. The satisfactory results obtained with this procedure must be emphasized. Despite the small number of so-treated patients reported in world literature, it is suggested that total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis must be regarded as the procedure of choice for toxic megacolon without peritonitis.