• Gregory D Kennedy, Charles Heise, Victoria Rajamanickam, Bruce Harms, and Eugene F Foley.
• Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin SMPH, Madison, WI 53792, USA. kennedyg@surgery.wisc.edu
• Ann. Surg. 2009 Apr 1;249(4):596-601.

ObjectiveCompare outcomes of non-emergent laparoscopic to open colon surgery.BackgroundLaparoscopy has revolutionized much of gastrointestinal surgery. Colon and rectal surgery has seen drastic changes with many of the abdominal operations being performed laparoscopically. However, data comparing recovery and complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic and open colon surgery has shown only slight benefits for laparoscopy. Given the large benefits of laparoscopy in most gastrointestinal surgical procedures, this outcome is surprising. We, therefore, have set out to test the hypothesis that laparoscopic approaches decreases postoperative complications.MethodsWe have undertaken a review of the database maintained by the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. We have identified 8660 patients who met inclusion criteria for this study. Postoperative complication data were collected for patients undergoing laparoscopic or open colon surgery. Using a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses we evaluated for statistical significance.ResultsWe found that laparoscopy decreased overall complications as well as individual complications. We found a decreased length of stay as well as a decreased risk for postoperative complications in the elderly. We found that laparoscopy decreased complication rate independent of the probability of morbidity statistic.ConclusionsWhen controlled for probability of morbidity, laparoscopy decreases the rate of postoperative complications. Given the equivalent outcomes of laparoscopic approaches, we conclude that laparoscopy should be offered to all patients who lack an absolute contraindication for laparoscopic surgery.

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