TEMPORARY COLOSTOMY IN SUPRALEVATOR PELVIC EXENTERATION - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY BETWEEN STAPLED LOOP AND LOOP COLOSTOMY

A temporary loop colostomy is created in most patients undergoing tota l supralevator pelvic exenteration with low rectal anastomosis. We rep ort 16 patients comparing two different types of loop colostomy. In ha lf of them a normal loop colostomy was made and refashioning of the st oma was necessary in two patients because of faecal spillover in the p resence of anastomotic leakage, In the other eight patients a function al terminal colostomy was created by application of a TA 55 stapler on the efferent loop. In this group no refashioning of the stoma was nec essary and no difficulties were encountered on closure of this type of colostomy. Because of the high incidence of anastomotic leakage in th is population, the stapled loop colostomy is the preferred method of c hoice because it eliminates any possible faecal spillover.