ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the impact of preoperative radiochemotherapy on postoperative complications in patients with mid-low rectal carcinomas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathologic data of T3 and T4 patients with mid-low rectal carcinomas in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Changhai Hospital of The Second Military Medical University from January 2009 to December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. This cohort included 81 patients treated with preoperative radiochemotherapy followed by operation(radiochemotherapy group) and 93 cases who underwent surgery alone(control group).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both resection rate and sphincter preservation rate were higher in the radiochemotherapy group(100% and 86.4%) than those in the control group(94.6% and 73.1%), and the difference in sphincter preservation rate was statistically significant(P=0.039). There were no significant differences in the mean operative time [(130±15) min vs.(125±20) min, P>0.05] and mean amount of bleeding [(100±15) ml vs. (95±10) ml, P>0.05] between the two groups. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was similar(9.9% vs. 9.7%, P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Preoperative radiochemotherapy can significantly increase sphincter preservation rate of mid-low rectal carcinomas, and does not increase the difficulty in surgical procedure and postoperative complications.</p>