First Feasibility Study and Short-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic-Assisted Anterior Resection in Colorectal Cancer in Malaysia

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic-assisted anterior resection (LAAR) for colorectal cancer in a local Asian population. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of all patients with colorectal cancer operated from November 2017 to October 2018. Main variables of interest were demography, type and surgery, length of stay (LOS), and the involvement of proximal and distal doughnut. Postoperative complications were analysed using chi-square or Fisher exact and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS: There were 23 patients with a mean age of 62.5 ± 12.2 years. The mean time from diagnosis to surgery was 97.1 ± 154.84 days. There were 12 patients in the LAAR group and 11 in the open anterior resection (OAR) group. Duration of surgery was shorter in OAR (129.58 ± 51.38 minutes) compared to LAAR (147.91 ± 39.37 minutes). Mean LOS was shorter in the LAAR group with 5±1.5 days compared to the OAR group of 7.42 ± 4.25 days. However, there was no significant P-value for both duration of surgery (P = 0.322) or LOS (P = 0.87). A total of 3 complications were recorded after OAR and 2 after LAAR. Both groups had clear proximal and distal margins with 16 (12–18.5) harvested lymph nodes in LAAR and 18 (16–22) in OAR, which were equal (P = 0.155). CONCLUSION: This study reports a shorter LOS in the minimally invasive group of 2 days with similar oncologic resection outcomes. This shows that LAAR is feasible in Malaysia and has potential outcome benefits.