There are no conflicts of interest Word count:Text: 2992
Abstract: 250Colon-CT study -3 -
Abstract:Aim: Complete mesocolic excision for colon cancer includes central division of the tumour feeding artery. The degree of central radicality is assessed by measuring the distance from the tumour to the artery ligation by the pathologist on the resected specimen. As the length of the artery is highly variable between individuals, this technique may not be the most accurate measure of radicality as it cannot assess the length of the artery left behind inside the patient. The aim was to visualize the length of the tumour feeding artery after surgery and compare the relationship to pathological measures.Method: The length of the arterial stump was measured from the origin to the ligation point on a CT-scan two days post-operatively. This was done by a specialized radiologist who was blinded to operative procedure.Results: 52 patients had the required CT images. The mean length of the residual arterial stump was 38 mm, which was significantly longer than the expected length of <10 mm (p<0.0001). On the right side, the mean length was 31 mm and independent of the relation to the superior mesenteric vein. On the left side, the mean length was 49 mm. There was no correlation between the residual arterial stump and the pathological measures of specimen radicality.Conclusions: The residual arterial stumps measured by post-operative CT were longer than expected even on the right side where a CME was attempted.. Caution should be taken when using pathological measures as an estimation of a central ligation.Colon-CT study -4 -What does this paper add to the literature? This is the first study that measures the length of the remaining arterial stump after colon cancer surgery in a prospective and consecutive cohort. Furthermore, the results are compared to the pathological measures of central radicality on the specimen resected and we found no correlation.