Peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis after laparoscopic-assisted anterior resection for early rectal cancer - Report of a case

Minimally invasive colon surgery has been shown to be both technically feas ible and a safe alternative to laparotomy. Its efficacy for the curative re section of colorectal cancer, however, remains controversial. Of major conc ern are the increasing reports of port-site recurrence after use of laparos copic techniques in malignant disease. In this article a heretofore unrepor ted complication of peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis after laparoscopic-a ssisted anterior resection for early stage rectal cancer is presented. Isol ated peritoneal recurrence is rare after curative resection of Stage I rect al cancer. The effect of pneumoperitoneum on tumor dissemination is discuss ed.