The Impact of Minimally Invasive Surgery on the Incidence of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction and Related Complications Following Colorectal Cancer Resections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This article systematically reviews and meta-analyzes studies comparing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) to open surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC) resection, focusing on adhesion-related complications, particularly adhesive small bowel obstruction (SBO). Analyzing data from 10 studies with 23,032 patients, the findings indicate that MIS is associated with a significantly lower incidence of adhesive SBO, reduced need for surgical intervention for SBO, and decreased infection rates compared to open surgery. No significant differences were observed in SBO requiring hospital admission, incisional hernia rates, or length of hospital stay, while the open surgery group showed a lower incidence of parastomal hernias. The study highlights the potential benefits of MIS in reducing certain postoperative complications in CRC patients but notes the need for further randomized prospective studies to confirm these results.