Early postoperative complications after stapled vs handsewn restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in 148 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis coli: a matched-pair analysis.

Objective: Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and ulcerative colitis (UC) has been modified from a transanal hand-suture after mucosectomy to a stapled ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) without mucosectomy. Better functional results favour stapled anastomosis; however, stapled anastomosis results in higher rates of adenomas in persisting anorectal mucosa. The purpose of this study was to compare the two techniques of pouch-anal anastomosis with respect to early postoperative complications in a collective of FAP patients.

Methods: The study was performed as a matched-pair analysis. Data were obtained from a prospectively collected database.

Results: The overall rate of postoperative complications was higher after stapled IPAA (31% stapled vs 23% handsewn), with anastomotic stricture occurring in 24.3% (stapled) and 16.2% (handsewn) (P = 0.22). Any leakage or pelvic abscess formation after stapled anastomosis occurred within 30 days in almost all patients, whereas these were mainly diagnosed between 30 days and 6 months after handsewn IPAA. A laparoscopic approach was used in 56.7% of patients in the stapled group but in only two patients in the handsewn group. Intra-operative blood loss was significantly higher in the handsewn group (mean ± SD: 699 ± 511 ml vs 369 ± 343 ml; P < 0.0001), as was the volume of blood transfused (mean ± SD: 205 ± 365 ml vs 8 ± 49 ml; P < 0.0001). Function did not differ between the groups.

Conclusions: There was a nonstatistically significant tendency towards a higher rate of early postoperative complications after stapled IPAA. The timing of anastomotic leakage and abscess formation differed between the groups.