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Surgical treatments

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The choice of operation depends on the height of the lesion above the anal verge, it's configuration, gross extent and degree of differentiation, and the patient's general condition. A colostomy may be required and this should be discussed with the patient.

Four principal operations are used:

  • local resection: if the patient is too old or frail to withstand a major operation
  • anterior resection of rectum: for growths more than 10 cm from the anal verge but below the recto-sigmoid junction
  • abdomino-perineal resection of rectum: for growths less than 10 cm from the anal verge
  • Hartmann's procedure: if the tumour is unresectable

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