The Place of Relief Colostomy in Resection for Carcinoma of the Left Colon and Upper Rectum

Abstract

A review of 167 consecutive cases of resection and anastomosis for carcinoma of the left colon and upper rectum over a 5-year period is described. An attempt was made to determine whether relief colostomy was associated with a lower incidence of anastomotic dehiscence. The overall figures of this survey show a 5-fold increase in anastomotic leaks where proximal decompression had not been used. In all regions relief colostomy was shown to have a protective effect, but this was especially true in the patients submitted to anterior resection for growths in the upper third of the rectum. The subsequent operation for closure of the colostomy did not add to the overall operative mortality in this series.