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World J Gastroenterol. Oct 28, 2010; 16(40): 5035-5041
Published online Oct 28, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i40.5035
Quality of life after laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery: A systematic review
Sanne AL Bartels, Malaika S Vlug, Dirk T Ubbink, Willem A Bemelman
Sanne AL Bartels, Malaika S Vlug, Dirk T Ubbink, Willem A Bemelman, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dirk T Ubbink, Department of Quality Assurance and Process Innovation, Academic Medical Center, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Bartels SAL and Vlug MS contributed equally to this work by designing the review, conducting the search, extracting the data and writing the manuscript; Ubbink DT contributed to the design, analyzed the data and critically revised the manuscript; Bemelman WA contributed to the design and critically revised the manuscript; all authors approved the final version.
Correspondence to: Dr. Willem A Bemelman, Professor, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, PO Box 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands. w.a.bemelman@amc.uva.nl
Telephone: +31-20-5666818 Fax: +31-20-5669243
Received: April 28, 2010
Revised: June 10, 2010
Accepted: June 17, 2010
Published online: October 28, 2010
Abstract

This study was a systematic review of the available evidence on quality of life in patients after laparoscopic or open colorectal surgery. A systematic review was performed of all randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared laparoscopic with open colorectal surgery. Study selection, quality assessment and data extraction were carried out independently by two reviewers. Primary endpoint was quality of life after laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery, as assessed by validated questionnaires. The search resulted in nine RCTs that included 2263 patients. Short- and long-term results of these RCTs were described in 13 articles. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 2 d to 6.7 years. Due to clinical heterogeneity, no meta-analysis could be conducted. Four RCTs did not show any difference in quality of life between laparoscopic or open colorectal surgery. The remaining five studies reported a better quality of life in favor of the laparoscopic group on a few quality of life scales at time points ranging from 1 wk to 2 years after surgery. In conclusion, based on presently available high-level evidence, this systematic review showed no clinically relevant differences in postoperative quality of life between laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery.

Keywords: Quality of life, Colorectal surgery, Laparoscopy, Colonic neoplasms, Colonic diseases, Inflammatory bowel diseases