Benefits of laparoscopic over open colectomy decrease with operative time

The longer a laparoscopic colectomy for cancer takes, the less its advantages over an open colectomy in terms of morbidity and mortality, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

A team led by Dr. Matthew Bailey, a surgery resident at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, queried the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database to identify more than 4,000 patients undergoing right colectomy because of colorectal malignancy.   Read the full article here.