title: Single-incision laparoscopic surgery for colorectal malignancy--results of a matched-pair comparison to conventional surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is a new minimally invasive technique which has frequently been applied for treatment of benign colorectal diseases. However, there is still little experience with this technique for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-eight patients with SILS resections for colon (n = 25) or rectal cancer (n = 43) were compared to a group of conventionally operated patients who were matched for surgical procedure, tumor stage and tumor location, and the use of preoperative radiochemotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups were comparable for lymph node harvest, specimen length, and the duration of surgery. No significant differences were observed for the number of positive circumferential resection margins, or the distance of the tumor to both the aboral or lateral resection margin, but two positive resection margins were only present after SILS and not after conventional surgery. Hospitalization tended to be shorter after SILS (p = 0.097). Overall, morbidity was equivalent between the two groups, with a difference for colon cancer where it was significantly lower after SILS as compared to open surgery (p = 0.025) mainly due to a lower rate of wound complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SILS might be an acceptable alternative to open surgery for the treatment of colon cancer. For rectal cancer, no apparent benefit could be documented. As no sufficient data on the oncologic quality are available, single-incision laparoscopic surgery can yet not be recommended for the treatment of rectal cancer out of clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of General-, Visceral- and Thoracic Surgery, Leverkusen General Hospital, Am Gesundheitspark 11, 51375, Leverkusen, Germany, andreas.rink@klinikum-lev.de.
authors.forename: Andreas D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rink
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vestweber
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Vestweber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome