Colonic J-Pouch, Coloplasty, Side-to-End Anastomosis: Meta-Analysis and Comparison of Outcomes

Preservation of rectal function after low anterior resection or proctectomy with formation of a neorectum has improved the quality of life of many patients with rectal cancers. This would mean preserving the anal sphincters and avoiding a permanent stoma while reconstructing a neorectum to improve the bowel function of patients. Following proctectomy, the traditional anastomosis will be a straight coloanal end-to-end anastomosis to restore bowel continuity. However, this is associated with very poor bowel function. The construction of a colonic J-pouch anastomosis is introduced to reduce this problem. While colonic J-pouch anastomosis is able to obviate some of the functional problems of straight coloanal anastomosis, it comes with an additional problem of pouch evacuation. Therefore, alternatives techniques, such as transverse coloplasty pouch and side-to-end coloanal anastomosis, have been adopted. The postoperative surgical and functional outcomes are discussed and appraised.