Published online Nov 6, 2018. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v6.i13.632
Peer-review started: July 6, 2018
First decision: August 25, 2018
Revised: August 31, 2018
Accepted: October 8, 2018
Article in press: October 9, 2018
Published online: November 6, 2018
Processing time: 124 Days and 1.8 Hours
To prove that tattooing using indocyanine green (ICG) is feasible in laparoscopic surgery for a colon tumor.
From January 2012 to December 2016, all patients who underwent laparoscopic colonic surgery were retrospectively screened, and 1010 patients with colorectal neoplasms were included. Their lesions were tattooed with ICG the day before the operation. The tattooed group (TG) included 114 patients, and the non-tattooed group (NTG) was selected by propensity score matching of subjects based on age, sex, tumor staging, and operation method (n = 228). In total, 342 patients were enrolled. Between the groups, the changes in [Delta (Δ), preoperative-postoperative] the hemoglobin and albumin levels, operation time, hospital stay, oral ingestion period, transfusion, and perioperative complications were compared.
Preoperative TG had a shorter operation time (174.76 ± 51.6 min vs 192.63 ± 59.9 min, P < 0.01), hospital stay (9.55 ± 3.36 d vs 11.42 ± 8.23 d, P < 0.01), and post-operative oral ingestion period (1.58 ± 0.96 d vs 2.81 ± 1.90 d, P < 0.01). The Δ hemoglobin (0.78 ± 0.76 g/dL vs 2.2 ± 1.18 g/dL, P < 0.01) and Δ albumin (0.41 ± 0.44 g/dL vs 1.08 ± 0.39 g/dL, P < 0.01) levels were lower in the TG. On comparison of patients in the “N0” and “N1 or N2” groups, the N0 colon cancer group had a better operation time, length of hospital stay, oral ingestion period, Δ hemoglobin, and Δ albumin results than those of the N1 or N2 group. The operation methods affected the results, and laparoscopic anterior resection (LAR) showed similar results. However, for left and right hemicolectomy, both groups showed no difference in operation time or hospital stay.
Preoperative tattooing with ICG is useful for laparoscopic colectomy, especially in the N0 colon cancer group and LAR.
Core tip: As minimally invasive surgery becomes the main trend, endoscopic tattooing of colonic lesions has become important. Colonoscopic tattooing using indocyanine green (ICG) was performed in this study, resulting in a reduction in the operation time, blood loss, and the number of hospital days in patients in the N0 group. Multivariate analysis was conducted. There was strong evidence that after controlling for other variables, the tattooing procedure using ICG was associated with reduced blood loss and post-operative bowel recovery. Thus, colonoscopic tattooing using ICG is helpful in laparoscopic colectomy.