Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy: A single center experience

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the early postoperative results of patients who underwent laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for colon cancer in our center.
METHODS: Patients with right colon cancer who underwent elective laparoscopic right hemicolectomy between December 2017 and March 2020 at the Samsun Training and Research Hospital were included in this study. The patients were evaluated in terms of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, comorbidities, previous abdominal surgery, tumor location, preoperative bowel cleansing, prophylactic antibiotherapy, operative time, pathological staging, number of lymph nodes removed, anastomosis type and construction (intracorporeal or extracorporeal), postoperative complications, reoperation, hospital length of stay, and rates of mortality and morbidity.
RESULTS: The study included nine men and three women with a median age of 65 years (range 48–81 years)and median BMI of 26.9 (range: 23–33). The median operative time was 167.5 min (range: 120–240 min). Mean blood loss was 95±41 ml. Three patients were stage I, six were stage II, and one was stage III. Two had noninvasive cancer on pathologic examination. The median number of lymph nodes removed was 12 (range: 0–49). All of the anastomoses were side-to-side; five were constructed intracorporeally (IA) and seven extracorporeally (EA). The median operative times were 165 min (range: 120–240 min) and 165 min (range: 135–200 min), median length of skin incision was 6.7 cm and 8.7 cm in patients with IA and EA, respectively. Morbidity was observed in three patients (25%) and consisted of an anastomotic leak in one patient, incision site infection in one patient, and paralytic ileus in one patient. The median hospital length of stay was 6.5 days (range: 5–40 days). There was no mortality and incisional hernia.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy is a safe and effective technique for the surgical treatment of right colon tumors.