The clinical outcome of minilaparotomy approach for curative resection of stage 0 and I colon cancer

Since July 2000, we have been performing minilaparotomy as a minimally invasive alternative to laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer, and we reported the technique and short-term oncological results. In the present study, the clinical outcomes of minilaparotomy approach for curative resection of stage 0 and I colon cancer were evaluated. One hundred twenty-seven patients underwent curative resection of stage 0 and I colon cancer via minilaparotomy (skin incision, ≥7 cm) between July 2000 and March 2009. Of the 127 patients, 17 patients underwent an additional resection after EMR. There were 84 men and 43 women with a median age of 67 years. Their median body mass index was 22.6 kg/m2. ASA stage was stage I in 100, stage II in 12, and stage III in 15. Thirty-nine cases had received a prior abdominal surgery. The median operation time was 110 min and median blood loss was 50 mL. The D1, D2 and D3 lymph node dissection was performed in 37, 63 and 27 cases, respectively. The minilaparotomy approach was successfully performed in 120 out of 127 patients. Three of 7 cases failed to affect the adhesion caused by prior abdominal surgery. The ratio of 5-year overall survival rate was 95%, and two cases of stage I had developed a tumor recurrence (metastasis to liver and para-aortic lymph nodes), one patient died of para-aortic lymph nodes recurrence. A minilaparotomy approach to the curative resection for colon cancer is feasible and safe, and would be oncologically an adequate procedure.