Obstructive Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer: A Comparison between Primary Resection and Delayed Resection

cinoma(CRC) present with partial or complete bowel obstruction at diagnosis, accounting for about 85% of emergent surgery for CRC. Poorer prognosis has been reported in these patients as compared with those who required elective surgery. The choices of surgical intervention for obstructive CRC vary widely, depending on tumor location, patient’s general condition, and surgeon’s experience. It is generally accepted that right-sided obstructive CRC can be treated with right hemicolectomy and ileocolic anastomosis, resolving the obstruction and cancer at the same time. Meanwhile, the optimal treatment for left-sided obstructive CRC remains controversial. Two types of surgical approaches have been used to date based on the timing of tumor resection, namely, primary resection and delayed resection. In the former, cancer and bowel obstruction are treated simultaneously; while, in the latter, cancer is resected after a temporary diversion. J Soc Colon Rectal Surgeon (Taiwan) September 2006