The Usefulness of Preoperative Colonoscopic Tattooing with Autologous Blood for Localization in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

PURPOSE: In colorectal cancer surgery, it is important to have accurate resection margins. However, it is challenging to localize lesions during laparoscopy. Therefore, to reduce surgical errors, many preoperative localizing methods have been introduced. In this study, we aimed to assess the preoperative feasibility and safety of autologous blood tattooing. METHODS: A total of 11 patients underwent preoperative colonoscopic autologous blood tattooing from August 2017 to February 2020. At the start of the surgery, the surgeon assessed the patients for the precision of visibility and other complications such as abscess or spillage. The patients’ characteristics, outcomes, and complications were collected retrospectively. RESULTS: The study comprised 8 men and 3 women, with an average age of 63 years. Ten patients showed precise visibility, and no localization errors were observed during surgery. No complication was observed in all patients. CONCLUSION: Preoperative autologous blood tattooing is a very useful and safe technique because it has high visibility with no complications. This method does not require additional agents or facilities. A large-scale study will be required to develop standard guidelines.