Effect of anastomotic reinforcement suture on the incidence of anastomotic fistula after laparoscopic surgery for low and middle rectal cancer

Objective To investigate the effect of anastomotic reinforcement suture on the incidence and complications of anastomotic leakage after laparoscopy for middle and low rectal cancer. Methods A total of 258 patients with middle and low rectal cancer who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from March 2018 to December 2020 were selected. According to the operation methods, 123 patients with laparoscopic anterior rectectomy and anastomotic reinforcement suture were set as an observation group, while 135 patients receiving laparoscopic anterior rectectomy alone were set as a control group. Both groups were compared for their clinical data, postoperative inflammatory indicators and complication incidence. Results Compared with the control group, the observation group presented remarkable decreases in the time to first anal exhaust, the time to first out-of-bed activity, the recovery time of gastrointestinal function, and the length of hospitalization stay (P<0.05). For postoperative inflammatory indicators, the observation group showed significantly lower counts of white blood cells, neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes and C-reactive protein levels than the control group (P<0.05). The total incidence of postoperative complication in the observation group was remarkably lower than that in the control group, where lower incidences of anastomotic leakage and incision infection were found in the observation group (P<0.05). Conclusions Anastomotic reinforcement suture can reduce the incidence of anastomotic leakage after laparoscopy for middle and low rectal cancer, which is worthy of promotion.