Role of body mass index in anastomotic leakage after curative treatment for rectal cancer.

Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) represents a severe complication after rectal surgery, leading to significant morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs. Despite improvements in surgical methods and perioperative care, the challenge of AL persists.

Objectives: Explore the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the risk of AL following curative treatment for rectal cancer, providing insight into its predictive value.

Design: Retrospective review.

Settings: Data were collected from a single tertiary center, emphasizing the specialized postoperative outcomes in a high-care setting.

Patients and methods: The study population was comprised patients who underwent sphincter-saving surgery combined with neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal cancer from 2001 to 2011. Patients with anastomotic stenosis were excluded.

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome investigated was the occurrence of AL post-surgery. Secondary outcomes included the assessment of local cancer recurrence rates within the AL group.

Sample size: 224; 13 excluded.

Results: Of 237 patients who underwent surgery, 13 with anastomotic stenosis were excluded from this study. Of the remaining 224, 15 individuals (6.3%) developed AL. A potential association between higher BMI and increased AL risk was identified. Additionally, the study noted a higher incidence of local rectal cancer recurrence in the group that developed leakage.

Conclusion: The findings suggest BMI as a significant predictive factor for AL after curative rectal cancer treatment. This emphasizes the need for heightened awareness and possible preoperative counseling for obese patients regarding their increased risk of postoperative leakage.

Limitations: The study was retrospective with all the inherit biases of such studies. The sample size was small and this may have introduced a type 2 statistical error.