Long-term quality-of-life after open and laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy

Purpose: Laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy (LSC) is frequently performed for sigmoid diseases with excellent prognosis. We aimed to determine the long-term quality-of-life after open sigmoid colectomy (OSC) compared with LSC. Methods: Thirty-nine patients were investigated 40.5 +/- 2.8 months (mean +/- SEM) after LSC. Each LSC patient was matched to a patient after OSC. Patients were interviewed by telephone and the Eypasch quality-of-life questionnaire was answered by mail. Results: LSC entailed fewer minor complications (P = 0.0003) and 97% of the patients were satisfied with the cosmetic result, which was more compared with 63% after OSC (P = 0.001). Patients suffering from recurrent diverticulitis had a similar quality-of-life index after LSC and OSC (P = 0.945). A minor trend was observed in patients with early-staged colorectal neoplasia in favor of LSC (113.6 +/- 3.3 vs. 106.0 +/- 4.2; P = 0.21, mean +/- SEM). Conclusions: LSC is superior concerning minor complications and cosmesis, whereas quality-of-life is similar in the long term.