Background: We compared the perioperative parameters and outcomes achieved with hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC) vs open colectomy (OC) for the management of benign and malignant colorectal disease, including cancer patients treated with curative intent. Methods: Sixty eligible patients were randomized to either HALC (n = 30) or OC (n = 30) treatment groups. We used Pearson's chi-square and two-sample t-tests to compare the differences in demographics and perioperative parameters. Results: There were no significant differences in age, gender distribution, disease pattern, operative procedure, comorbidity, or history of abdominal surgery. The HALC patients had significantly shorter hospital stays and incision lengths, faster recovery of gastrointestinal function, less analgesic use and blood loss, and lower pain scores on postoperative days 1, 3, and 14. There were no significant differences in operative time, complications, or time to return to normal activity. Conclusion: Hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC) is safe and produces better therapeutic results in terms of perioperative parameters than OC.

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Cytokine release during surgery can produce a long-lasting hyperalgesia. Thus, preoperatively-administered cytokine inhibitors might reduce the production of cytokines, decreasing central nervous system sensitization and improving the quality of postoperative pain relief. We investigated the hypothesis that preincisional IV pentoxifylline (PTX) treatment could attenuate the release of proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8) and antiinflammatory (IL-1 receptor antagonist) cytokines in patients who underwent elective colorectal cancer surgery. Forty patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups of 20 each: the PTX group received a PTX 5 mg/kg IV infusion before the induction of anesthesia, whereas the control group received an equal volume of normal saline. Venous blood samples were obtained at frequent intervals. After surgery, all patients received patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine for postoperative pain relief. Patients in the PTX group exhibited longer PCA trigger times, less morphine consumption, and a faster return of bowel function compared with patients in the control group. Moreover, the plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1 receptor antagonist were less in the treatment group, and there was no significant difference in wound infections, tumor recurrence, or metastatic rates between groups during a 2-yr follow-up.

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