title: Are there differences between right and left colectomies when performed by laparoscopy?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an extended belief that the laparoscopic approach to left colectomy (LC) is technically more demanding and associated with more postoperative complications than to right colectomy (RC). However, there is no consensus in the literature about whether the short-term outcomes of RC differ from those of LC. The aim of this paper was to compare the postoperative course of patients undergoing RC and LC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed 1000 consecutive patients who underwent a laparoscopic RC or LC between 1998 and 2012. Factors analyzed were intraoperative complications, surgical time, postoperative complications, and length of stay. The two groups were divided into four subgroups (neoplasia, diverticular disease, polyps, and others).
  
  
  RESULTS
  LC was associated with more postoperative complications than RC and longer operative time both in the two main groups (postoperative complications 30 vs. 19%; operative time 139 vs. 118 min) and in the neoplasia subgroups (27 vs. 18%; 137 vs. 118 min). No differences between groups were found for rates of reintervention or death. Comparison between LC subgroups showed that the operative time was longer and the conversion rate was higher in the diverticular disease subgroup than in the neoplasia subgroup (155 vs. 137 min; 21 vs. 8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this large cohort of patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy, LC carried a higher risk than RC of postoperative complications. These findings provide new data on the differences between the two surgeries. Our findings strengthen the notion that right and left colectomies have a different intraoperative and postoperative course and should be analyzed as two separate entities.
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. victorturradorodriguez@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Turrado-Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Targarona Soler
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bollo Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balagué Ponz
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hernández Casanovas
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: General and Digestive Surgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trías Folch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003082:Colectomy / Q000379:methods*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D061646:Operative Time; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cancer; Colon; Colorectal; G-I