ABSTRACT
Issues involved in closure of double-barreled and lateral colostomies in patients with cancer of the large bowel were analysed to find out whether the latter disease is a risk factor in reconstructive surgery. The analysis included 215 patients. In 77 (35.8%) of them, colostomy was formed in the course of treatment for large bowel cancer. Two groups of patients were compared by some parameters of patient's preoperative condition, time of closure, method of preparation and type of surgery. Comparison of early postoperative complications following closure revealed significant difference in the frequency of complications on the part of anastomosis. The latter were observed in 11 (14.3 +/- 3.9%) patients with large bowel cancer and 6 (4.4 +/- 1.7%) cases of nontumor pathology (P = 0.023). The rate of development of those complications was shown to depend on the method used to restore the continuity of the bowel. It was concluded that cancer of the large bowel was not a direct factor of risk in closure of double-barreled and lateral colostomies.
