Kiyoshige Fujimoto

Functional outcome after low anterior resection with low anastomosis for rectal cancer using the colonic J-pouch. Prospective randomized study for determination of optimum pouch size.

PURPOSE: Functional outcome after low anterior resection with ultralow coloanal anastomosis for rectal cancer is improved by construction of a colonic J-pouchvs.straight anastomosis. Optimum size of this pouch has yet to be determined. Therefore, we initiated a prospective, randomized trial using 5-cm and 10-cm pouches to determine this size. METHODS: Patients with tumors 5 to 10 cm from the anal verge were included in the study. Before a low anterior resection anastomosis was performed, patients were randomized to either a 5-cm J-pouch group (5-J group) or a 10-cm J-pouch group (10-J group). Functional assessments were performed one year postoperatively. Clinical functions were evaluated using a functional scoring system. Physiologic functions, such as sphincter and reservoir function, were evaluated by anorectal manometry and evacuation function by the balloon expulsion and saline evacuation tests. RESULTS: Forty patients among 43 randomized patients were assessed for functional outcome one year postoperatively (5-J group, n=20; 10-J group, n=20). The functional score was similar for the two groups, although reservoir function in the 5-J group was significantly less than in the 10-J group. Sphincter function was similar between the two groups. Evacuation function in the 5-J group was significantly superior to that in the 10-J group. CONCLUSIONS: The 5-cm J-pouch conferred adequate reservoir function without compromising evacuation.

Results from pelvic exenteration for locally advanced colorectal cancer with lymph node metastases

PURPOSE: We examined the survival benefit of pelvic exenteration for locally advanced colorectal cancer with lymph node metastases, because this issue remains controversial. METHODS: Medical records of 50 patients who underwent curative pelvic exenteration for colorectal cancer were reviewed retrospectively. Nodal metastases were examined by the clearing method in 29 patients and by the conventional manual method in 21 patients. RESULTS: Invasion to contiguous pelvic organs was present in 40 patients (80 percent) and absent in 10 patients (20 percent). Node metastases were present in 33 patients (66 percent). Operative morbidity and mortality rates were 22 percent (11 patients) and 6 percent (3 patients), respectively. Respective five-year survival rates were 60 and 80 percent in the groups with and without organ invasion (no significant difference). Five-year survival rates in patients with nodal metastases was 54.6 percent but was significantly higher, 82.4 percent, in patients without nodal metastases. Five-year survival in 28 patients with both organ invasion and nodal metastases was 53.6 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survival was afforded by pelvic exenteration for locally advanced colorectal cancer with nodal metastases.

Indications for colonic J-pouch reconstruction after anterior resection for rectal cancer

PURPOSE: Functional outcome after anterior resection for rectal cancer is improved by colonic J-pouch reconstruction compared with straight anastomosis. The indications for colonic J-pouch reconstruction have yet to be determined. Therefore, we attempted to determine the level at which J-pouch reconstruction provides an advantage over straight anastomosis. METHODS: A total of 48 patients who underwent 5-cm colonic J-pouch reconstruction (J-pouch group) and 80 patients who underwent straight anastomosis (straight group) underwent functional assessment one year postoperatively. RESULTS: The functional outcome in the J-pouch group was significantly better than that in the straight group when the distance of the anastomosis from the anal verge was less than 8 cm. The difference was particularly obvious when the level of the anastomosis was below 4 cm. However, functional outcome in the straight group when the anastomosis was between 9 and 12 cm from the anal verge was also satisfactory and did not differ from that in the J-pouch group when the anastomosis was between 5 and 8 cm from the anal verge. CONCLUSIONS: Colonic J-pouch reconstruction is indicated when the distance of anastomosis from the anal verge is less than 8 cm, and it is essential when the distance is less than 4 cm.

The extent of lymph node dissection for colon carcinoma

The surgeon is no longer able to palpate the mesocolon for lymph node metastases during laparoscopic colectomy. The extent of lymph node dissection should be determined beforehand for cancer control.

Second-look operation for recurrent colorectal cancer based on carcinoembryonic antigen and imaging techniques

PURPOSE: The usefulness of postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) monitoring and improvements in imaging techniques have renewed enthusiasm for second-look operations (SLO) as the most effective treatment for recurrent colorectal cancer by reresection following early detection. The aim of our study is to evaluate the role of CEA and imaging techniques-directed SLO. METHODS: Seven hundred fifty-six patients with Dukes Stages B and C, who had undergone curative resection, were monitored postoperatively using CEA and imaging techniques. An SLO was performed on any potentially resectable recurrence, and in addition, an SLO was done when a persistently rising CEA value was detected. RESULTS: Recurrence developed in 18.8 percent (142/756) of patients, and 90.8 percent (129/ 142) of the recurrences were detected within the first three years following curative resection. When comparing carcinomas of the colon with that of the rectum, the former were associated with significantly more hepatic and intra-abdominal recurrences, whereas the latter had significantly more locoregional and pulmonary recurrences. Seventy-two patients underwent SLO. Of these patients, 54.2 percent (39/72) had all of their disease resected, and 1.4 percent (1/72) had no detectable disease at the SLO. Among the 142 patients with recurrence, 71 (50 percent) patients underwent SLO. The resectable group at SLO carried a significantly better survival than the unresectable recurrence group (41.3vs.5.2 percent;P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Complete removal of colorectal cancer recurrences by SLO, on the basis of postoperative, follow-up CEA and imaging technique findings, results in improved survival.

Indication for using high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery in rectal cancer surgery

PURPOSE: In surgery for rectal cancer, it is unclear whether the inferior mesenteric artery should be ligated at a high or low position. The study contained herein was undertaken to clarify the indications for high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery. METHODS: Subjects included 198 patients with rectal cancer who underwent resection with high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery. Nodal metastases were examined by the clearing method. RESULTS: The incidence of metastases to the lymph nodes surrounding the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery (root nodes) was 8.6 percent. Inferior mesenteric artery root nodal metastases occurred more frequently with pT3 and pT4 cancer. The five-year survival rate in patients with inferior mesenteric artery root nodal metastases was 38.5 percent; this rate was significantly lower than in those without inferior mesenteric artery root nodal metastases (73.4 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Although the five-year survival rate in patients with inferior mesenteric artery root nodal metastases was lower than in those without metastases, inferior mesenteric artery root nodal dissection should be performed after high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery for patients with pT3 and pT4 cancers.

Analysis of regional lymph node metastases from rectal carcinoma by the clearing method: Justification of the use of sigmoid colon in J-pouch construction after low anterior resection

PURPOSE: It has been reported that functional outcome following low anterior resection of rectal cancer is improved by construction of a colonic J-pouch compared with straight anastomosis. Hence, we tried to justify use of the sigmoid colon in the construction of a J-pouch by the analysis of regional lymph node metastases. METHODS: A total of 182 patients underwent resection for rectal cancer. Node metastases were examined by the clearing method. According to Japanese General Rules for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Cancer of the Colon, Rectum and Anus (JGR), nodes were classified into the perirectal nodes (PR-N), pericolic nodes (PC-N), central intermediate nodes (C-IM-N), central main nodes (C-M-N), lateral intermediate nodes (L-IM-N), and lateral main nodes (L-M-N). RESULTS: Metastatic rate (number of patients with node metastases/ total number of patients) of PR-N was 57.1 percent. Metastatic rate of C-IM-N was 18.7 percent and that of C-M-N was 7.1 percent. Metastatic rates of L-IM-N and L-M-N were 8.8 and 3.3 percent, respectively, and both were highest in the case of lower rectal cancer. Metastatic rate of PC-N was only 1.1 percent. The number of cases without node metastases (n(−) cases) was 78, that with only PR-N metastases (PR-N cases) was 63, that with intermediate but not main node metastases (IM-N cases) was 29, and that with main node metastases (M-N cases) was 12. Five-year survival rate after curative resection was 88.5 percent for n(−) cases, 70.9 percent for PR-N cases, 65.9 percent for IM-N cases, and 41.7 percent for M-N cases. CONCLUSIONS: In low anterior resection, high ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery and dissection of C-M-N, C-IM-N and PR-N are necessary, with the addition of the L-IM-N and L-M-N in the case of lower rectal cancer. Resection of sigmoid colon is not required, and therefore, a J-pouch can be constructed using the sigmoid colon. Nodal classification according to the JGR was predictive of case distribution and five-year survival rate.

Functional Outcome After Low Anterior Resection for Rectal Cancer Using the Colonic J-Pouch

The functional outcome after low anterior resection (LAR) using the colonic J-pouch was compared with that after LAR using straight anastomosis. Colonic J-pouch construction was performed in 58 patients who underwent resection of tumors located 5–10 cm from the anal verge (J-pouch group). Functional assessment was performed 1 year postoperatively. Clinical function was evaluated using a scoring system, while physiologic sphincter and reservoir function were evaluated by anorectal manometry. The historical control group consisted of 20 patients who underwent LAR with straight anastomoses (straight group). The functional score of the J-pouch group was significantly better than that of the straight group. Although sphincter function was similar in the two groups, reservoir function was significantly better in the J-pouch group than in the straight group. These results demonstrated that the functional outcome following LAR for rectal cancer is improved by the colonic J-pouch construction.

Anterior resection following posterior transsacral stapling and transection of the anal canal for low-lying rectal cancer in males

In anterior resection with anastomosis using the double-staple technique for low-lying rectal cancer in male patients, the approach to the anal canal with a stapling instrument via the abdominal area is limited by the narrow pelvis. The stapling and transection of the anal canal via the posterior transsacral approach prior to performing an anterior resection thus enables the lower rectum and anal canal to be visualized, so that the anal canal can be accurately stapled and transected even in male patients with a narrow pelvis.