Results of low resection and intersphincteric extirpation of rectal cancer

Low resection and intersphincteric extirpation of rectal cancer in the distal third of the rectum has become an accepted sphincter-saving method. From December 1990 to December 1994, 42 patients (17 women and 25 men) with a mean age of 67.2 years had a low resection or extirpation of the rectum at our institution. Eighteen patients received a transanal sutured anastomosis, 24 a stapler anastomosis. We had a lethality rate of 2.5% and a anastomotic insufficiency rate of 14%.