The objective was to undertake a careful review of a sample of 90 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal resections through the course of 12 months (May 2009 to May 2010). The average age was 62.1 years, with extremes of 20 and 93 years, mostly female (52 patients; 57.8%). Bowel preparation was performed with Picolax in 53 patients (58.9%); 76 patients underwent colonoscopy and biopsy (84.4%). Colorectal cancer was the most common disease (60 cases; 66.7%), followed by polyps (12 cases; 13.4%), diverticular disease (7 cases; 7.8%) and other diseases (11 cases; 12,1%). The surgeries performed were retosigmoidectomy (54 cases; 60.0%), followed by right hemicolectomy (20 cases; 22.2%) and others. Most of the surgeries were carried out between 2 and 3 hours (34 cases; 37.8%) and between 3 and 4 hours (24 cases; 26.7%), with an average of 203 minutes. In 81 cases, there were anastomosis (90.0%), most mechanical intra-abdominal (55.6%) and manual extra-abdominal (25 cases, 27.8%), being the set of circular and linear articulated staplers the most commonly used features (50 cases, 55.6%). Electrocautery was used in 68 patients (75.6%). The most used abdominal incision was Mallard incision (39 cases; 43.4%) and median incision (22 cases; 24.4%), being the most common extensions between 6.0 and 10.0 cm (55 cases; 78.6%). There were 12 postoperative complications (13.2%), leading to conversions to laparotomy. The average size of surgical specimens was 33.2 cm, mostly between 21 and 30 cm (51 cases; 56.8%). There were 13 postoperative complications (14.4%), being 11 surgical (12.2%) and two clinics (2.2%) of which took place three deaths, being two from surgery and one from comorbidities. The mean length of hospital stay was 5.3 days, and 57 patients (63.3%) up to 5 days. 28 patients were admitted in the ICU (31.1%), mainly because of comorbidities (22 cases; 24.4%). The release of oral intake was a day for 49 patients (54.5%). The authors compare the results with related literature and confirm the similarities.
colorectal surgery; laparoscopy
