Temporary protective loop ileostomy in open low rectal resection -- an alternative technique.

The paper presents a simplified method for performing a temporary protective loop ileostomy as a result of our experience in 33 cases of low rectal resections for cancer.The particularities of this technique are: the skin incision is smaller than the muscle one, the seromuscular layer of the loop is fixed at the skin level only by marking a small portion of the antimesenteric wall, with no mucosal eversion. No supporting rod is used. The reversal requires resection of the thickened freemargins and enterorrhaphy. It involves a direct approach and avoids median laparotomy and segmental bowel resection.There was no case of peristomal abscess, bleeding, prolapse,retraction of the loop after the stoma was formed. Four patients(12.12%) had peristomal dermatitis. Five patients (15.62%) had high output fluid losses with electrolyte disorders, one of them(3.12%) with acute renal failure. Closure was performed after 6 weeks on average for the colorectal anastomoses and 10 weeks for the coloanal ones. We recorded a case (3.12%) of enterocutaneous fistula that was managed conservatively and 4 cases(12.12%) of incisional hernia, all of them surgically treated. No mortality was attributed to either creation or closure of the temporary loop ileostomy. It is a simple and fast technique in accordance with the temporary character of its indication.