Continuous sump-suction drainage of the pelvis after low anterior resection: A reappraisal

Abstract

Summary In a series of 44 consecutive patients with low anterior resection, there was no pelvic abscess or fistula formation in the 22 patients for whom continuous sump-suction drainage was used, and the morbidity was low. In 22 patients without sump-suction drainage, three had pelvic abscesses: two drained spontaneously and one was drained surgically. All three patients required defunctioning colostomies, and there was one death in this group. With attention to the known and accepted principles of good bowel surgery, careful technic, and the use of continuous sump-suction drainage, low anterior resection can be performed safely with low morbidity.