The effect of the surgical method on the number of disected lymph nodes in colorectal cancer surgery

Aim: By the dissemination of laparoscopic colorectal surgery there are many studies comparing the laparoscopic and open surgery. One of the parameters that are compared is the dissected lymph node number. The guidelines offer that there should be a minimum number of 12 lymph nodes for the staging of colorectal cancer. It is reported that only 48% of the resections achieve this number. In this study aims to compare the number of lymph nodes resected in laparoscopic and open colorectal cancer surgery. Material and Method: The files of the patients who had colorectal surgery in our clinic in between January 2011 and January 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups as laparoscopic and open surgery groups. Patients’ age, gender, preoperative diagnosis, tumor stage, surgical method, resected lymph node number and positivity of lymphatic metastasis were recorded. The groups were compared according to lymph node features. Results: There were 55 patients with colorectal surgery [17(31%) laparoscopic and 38(69%) open surgery]. The mean age of the patients was 63.9±12.9, the groups were similar in terms of age, gender and the tumor stage. The mean dissected lymph node number was 17.2±4.8 for laparoscopy group and 18.7±5.2 for open surgery group. This difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). There is no difference in between the groups in terms of metastatic lymph node numbers. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is as effective as open surgery in term of harvested lymph nodes. For the reliable tumor staging the surgeon and the pathologist should work together.