Laparoscopic-assisted colectomy with lymph node dissection for invasive carcinoma of the colon

The results of performing laparoscopic-assisted colectomy in 20 patients with invasive carcinoma of the colon were analyzed in this study. The site of the lesion was the right colon in 5 patients, the transverse colon in 1, the left colon in 13, and the rectosigmoid in 1. In 2 patients, the laparoscopic procedure needed to be converted to an open laparotomy. Limited lymph node dissection (R1+, R2) was carried out in 10 patients and estensive node dissection (R3) was carried out in 9 patients. The histological depth of invasion in the 18 patients who underwent laparoscopic-assisted colectomy was the submucosa in 9, the muscularis propria in 2, and the extramuscular layer in 7. There were 3 patients who developed postoperative complications, 1 of whom underwent reoperation due to perforation of the colon. The postoperative course of the patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery was compared with that of a retrospectively selected control group of patients who had undergone open laparotomy. The postoperative recovery of the patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery was significantly faster than that of those who had undergone open laparotomy. Thus, we consider that laparoscopic-assisted colectomy with lymph node dissection is technically feasible provided that patients are properly selected. This procedure may be indicated not only for colonic carcinoma in the early stage, but also for that with invasion of the muscularis propria or the extramuscular layer.