The objective was to undertake a careful review of a consecutive series of 120 patients with colorectal cancer approached by laparoscopic surgery (Video-group, 60 patients) and by laparotomy (Lap-group, 60 patients), during 12 months (May 2009 to May 2010). The average age was 58 years and 58.8 years in group-Lap and 57.3 years in Video-group, the majority being females in both groups (Lap-group - 55.0% and Video-group - 61.7%, general mean 58.3 years). All patients in both groups underwent colonoscopy and biopsy with histopathologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma. As far as distribution of tumors in the large intestine in Lap-group, 43 tumors were located in the rectum, rectosigmoid and sigmoid colon (71.7%) versus 45 in Video-group (75.0%), but with differences between low rectum (Lap-group 13,3%, Video-group 16.7%) and upper rectum (Lap-group 30.0%, Video-group 16.7%), sigmoid and rectosigmoid (Lap-group 28.4%, Video-group 41.6%). The most performed surgery was abdominal rectosigmoidectomy (Lap-group 27 cases, 45.0%; and Video-group 33 cases, 55,0%), followed by right hemicolectomy (Lap-group 16 cases, 26,6%; and Video-group 13 cases, 21.7%). The extensions of the surgical specimens were greater in Lap-group (mean 46.1 cm vs. 30.0 cm in Video-group), but due to higher number of surgeries that resulted in longer specimens. When comparing same surgical techniques, the difference does not persist as in cases of retosigmoidectomy (Lap-group with 32 cases, mean 28.2 cm; and Video-group with 39 cases, mean 26.6 cm). With regard to TNM staging T3N0M0, tumors was the most common in Lap-group with 30 cases (50.0%) and Video-group with 35 cases (58.4%). Regarding the lymph nodes count in surgical specimens, no difference was noted: total of 810 lymph nodes in specimens of Lap-group with a mean of 13.5 nodes per specimen, and total of 862 lymph nodes in Video-group with an average of 14.3 nodes per specimen. No difference was noted in relation to the count of lymph nodes in surgical specimens: the number of nodes was most commonly between 11 and 15 per specimen: 34 cases in Lap-group (56.7%) and 38 in Video-group (63.3%). Thus, no difference was noted between the two groups (Lap-group and Video-group) as far as oncologic and surgical criteria are concerned.
rectal cancer; laparoscopy; colorectal surgery
