Emergency colon surgery: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

This study was performed to compare the respective outcomes of three different surgical methods in the management of emergency colonic resection and anastomosis primary repair alone [Group I], primary repair with colostomy [Group II], and primary repair with omental wrapping [Group III]. Methods and Patients 100 patients with emergency colonic resection were allocated randomly to the three groups according to the type of management. The study was performed during 1992-1996 in three different military hospitals in different regions in Jordan. Two patients were excluded because they did not finally undergo colectomy. Of the 98 patients who matched the criteria of our study, the following results were obtained anastomosis leak occurred in three patients [two in Group I and one in Group II], there were five prolapsed colostomies [Group II], fourteen patients had wound infection [nine in Group I, three in Group II and two in Group III]. The mean time of hospital stay was 7.0, 7.1, and 6.9 days in the three groups respectively when there were no complications, and when the patients with complications were included, the hospital days were 15.3, 13.5, and 8.3 in the three groups respectively. Total hospital stay and complications were less in loop colostomy than primary repair alone. The fewest complications and the shortest hospital stays tended to be in Group III, primary repair with omental wrapping