Functional outcomes of transanal versus transabdominal restorative proctectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in ulcerative colitis—a monocentric retrospective comparative study

• Published in: Langenbeck's archives of surgery Vol. 407; no. 8; pp. 3607 - 3614
• Main Authors: Bislenghi, Gabriele, Denolf, Melvin, Fieuws, Steffen, Wolthuis, Albert, D’Hoore, André
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Abdominal Surgery; Cardiac Surgery; General Surgery; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Thoracic Surgery; Traumatic Surgery; Vascular Surgery; Ileitis; Functional outcomes; Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS); Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA); Pouch function; Ulcerative colitis; Quality of life
• DOI: 10.1007/s00423-022-02640-3
• ISSN: 1435-2451

Background Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) ensures satisfactory gastro-intestinal function and quality of life (QoL) in patients with refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). The transanal approach to proctectomy and IPAA (Ta-IPAA) has been developed to address the technical shortfalls of the traditional transabdominal approach (Tabd-IPAA). Ta-IPAA has proven to be safe but there is lack of reported functional outcomes. Aim of this study is to compare functional outcomes and QoL after Ta- or Tabd-IPAA for UC. Methods This is a retrospective study of consecutive UC patients who underwent IPAA between 2011 and 2017, operated according to a modified 2- or 3-stage approach. Close rectal dissection was performed in Ta-IPAA as opposed to total mesorectal excision in Tabd-IPAA. A propensity score weighting was performed. Functional outcomes were assessed using the pouch functional score (PFS) and the Öresland score (OS). The global quality of life scale (GQOL) was used for patients’ perspective on QoL. Follow-up was scheduled at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, postoperatively. Results One hundred and eight patients were included: 38 patients had Ta-IPAA. At 12 months follow-up, mean OS and PFS were 4.6 (CI 3.2–6.0) vs 6.2 (CI 5.0–7.3), p  = 0.025 and 6.1 (CI 3.5–8.8) vs 7.4 (CI 5.4–9.5), p  = 0.32, for Ta and Tabd-IPAA, respectively. Mean GQOL for Ta-IPAA was 82.5 (CI 74.8–90.1) vs 75.5 (69.4–81.7) for Tabd-IPAA ( p  = 0.045). Conclusions At 12 months postoperatively, pouch function and QoL of Ta-IPAA are probably as good as those of Tabd-IPAA. Limitations include retrospectivity, differences in the surgical technique, and lack of validated scores for QoL. Graphical abstract