A Multicenter Controlled Study of the Intracorporeal Mechanical Side-to-side Isoperistaltic Anastomosis Versus Extracorporeal Anastomosis in Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy: HEMI-D-TREND-study

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer is the second most frequent cancer in the Western world. Roughly a third of colorectal tumors are located in the right colon, and right hemicolectomy surgery is the treatment of choice in non-disseminated right colon cancer and other benign pathologies. Despite the introduction of laparoscopy and multimodal fast-track perioperative management programs in recent years, postoperative complication rates remain high. The most serious complication is anastomotic leak (AL), which is associated with increased mortality, longer hospital stay, and reduced quality of life due to the presence of ostomies. For a long time, the importance of ileo-colic AL was underestimated. However, the ANACO study, conducted in 52 hospitals in our environment, reported a rate of AL of 8.4% with a range of 0 to 35%. This wide range is due to the differences in the surgical procedures and anastomoses used (the surgical approach may be open or laparoscopic, and the anastomosis may be manual or mechanical, with all its variations).

The results of intracorporeal laparoscopic anastomosis in the literature vary widely and, are discordant, although those reported so far estimate a DA less than 2%. But the latest publications report low rates of morbidity and of surgical space infection (SSI). The main problem with this technique is that it requires a learning curve somewhat greater than the others and its results depend on the skill of the surgeon and his casuistry. For all these reasons, it is necessary to carry out comparative studies that favor the use of this technique as gold standard.

The multicentre, controlled and randomized controlled studies have the disadvantage that randomization in centers not used with one of the techniques does include a learning curve bias. Besides the fact that in a center there is a belief that one of the techniques is superior to the other, it is not ethical to randomize the techniques. This situation has encouraged us to perform a non-randomized TREND-study design (Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non-randomized Designs-TREND).

Main objective:

To assess if laparoscopic right hemicolectomy, with anastomosis, obtains better results than laparoscopic with extracorporeal anastomosis and open surgery in terms of global morbidity, surgical space infection, anastomotic leak, re-interventions and hospital stay, in the first 30 postoperative days.

Secondary objectives:

To analyze the rate of anastomotic leak (AL) and organ-cavitary infections in each hospital.

• Compare the results obtained with those published in the literature.
• Try to identify the risk factors associated with AL.
• Analyze the comorbidities associated with the type of incision made for the extraction of the surgical piece, in intra and extracorporeal anastomosis