Colectomy is rightly viewed as a last resort in selected patients with slow-transit constipation. A new study presents US national data that raises new concerns regarding the outcome of this procedure and perhaps questions whether it should be offered at all.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Knowles, C. H., Scott, M. & Lunniss, P. J. Outcome of colectomy for slow transit constipation. Ann. Surg. 230, 627–638 (1999).
Kamm, M. A., Hawley, P. R. & Lennard-Jones, J. E. Outcome of colectomy for severe idiopathic constipation. Gut 29, 969–973 (1988).
Dudekula, A., Huftless, S. & Bielefeldt, K. Colectomy for constipation: time trends and impact based on the nationwide inpatient sample, 1998–2011. Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apt.13415.
Pinedo, G. et al. Laparoscopic total colectomy for colonic inertia: surgical and functional results. Surg. Endosc. 23, 62–65 (2009).
Ho, Y. H., Tan, M., Eu, K. W., Leong, A. & Choen, F. S. Laparoscopic-assisted compared with open total colectomy in treating slow transit constipation. Aust. N. Z. J. Surg. 67, 562–565 (1997).
Wang, D. Y., Lin, J. J., Xu, X. M. & Liu, F. L. The role of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery in total colectomy for colonic inertia: a retrospective study. J. Korean Surg. Soc. 85, 123–127 (2013).
Bernini, A. et al. Should patients with combined colonic inertia and nonrelaxing pelvic floor undergo subtotal colectomy? Dis. Colon Rectum 41, 1363–1366 (1998).
Piccirillo, M. F., Reissman, P. & Wexner, S. D. Colectomy as treatment for constipation in selected patients. Br. J. Surg. 82, 898–901 (1995).
Pemberton, J. H., Rath, D. M. & Ilstrup, D. M. Evaluation and surgical treatment of severe chronic constipation. Ann. Surg. 214, 403–411 (1991).
Reshef, A., Alves-Ferreira, P., Zutshi, M., Hull, T. & Gurland, B. Colectomy for slow transit constipation: effective for patients with coexistent obstructed defecation. Int. J. Colorectal Dis. 28, 841–847 (2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing financial interests.
PowerPoint slides
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Knowles, C. Colectomy for constipation—a time for renewed caution?. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 12, 675–676 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2015.191
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2015.191