Assessment of morbidity and predictors of wound complications following perineal wound closure after radical anorectal oncologic resection: Retrospective cohort study Journal Article


Authors: Bercz, A.; Alvarez, J.; Rosen, R.; Drescher, M.; Sonoda, H.; Karagkounis, G.; Wei, I.; Widmar, M.; Nash, G. M.; Weiser, M. R.; Paty, P. B.; Allen, R. J.; Nelson, J. A.; Coriddi, M.; Dayan, J. H.; McCarthy, C.; Shahzad, F.; Matros, E.; Disa, J. J.; Cordeiro, P. G.; Mehrara, B. J.; Garcia-Aguilar, J.; Smith, J. J.; Pappou, E. P.
Article Title: Assessment of morbidity and predictors of wound complications following perineal wound closure after radical anorectal oncologic resection: Retrospective cohort study
Abstract: Background Perineal wound management after radical pelvic surgery is complex and diverse. This retrospective study evaluated surgical morbidity and predictors of wound complications associated with different perineal closure techniques. Methods Medical records of patients who underwent abdominoperineal resection or pelvic exenteration followed by tissue flap reconstruction (TFR) or primary closure (PC) between 2012 and 2020 were reviewed. Postoperative morbidity, including wound dehiscence, infection, flap loss, and Clavien-Dindo complications, were assessed. Results In all, 414 patients underwent surgery for rectal (364) or anal (50) malignancies, with 150 receiving TFR and 264 receiving PC; an omental flap was used in 81 patients who underwent PC. TFR was more commonly used in complex situations (for example exenteration, sacrectomy, vaginectomy, intraoperative radiation). Compared with PC, TFR was associated with higher 90-day rates of wound dehiscence (27 versus 11%; P < 0.001), wound infection (25 versus 14%; P < 0.001) and grade ≥III Clavien-Dindo complications (32 versus 17%; P = 0.001). Flap loss occurred in 2 patients (1%) who underwent TFR. No differences were observed among TFR subtypes, or between patients who underwent PC with and without an omental flap. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that anal cancer (odds ratio (OR) 5.24, 95% confidence interval (c.i.) 1.07 to 25.58; P = 0.041) and extralevator resection (OR 3.09, 95% c.i. 1.07 to 8.92; P = 0.037) were independent predictors of wound dehiscence, whereas vaginectomy was a predictor of wound dehiscence in the TFR subgroup (OR 17.9, 95% c.i. 1.05 to 304.73; P = 0.046). Conclusion TFR was associated with higher morbidity due to greater case complexity, but there were no difference in outcomes across flap subtypes. Anal cancer, extralevator resection, and vaginectomy were independent predictors of dehiscence. Omental flaps did not increase the risk of wound complications. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Foundation Ltd.
Keywords: adult; aged; middle aged; retrospective studies; plastic surgery; surgical flaps; retrospective study; postoperative complication; postoperative complications; pelvis exenteration; surgical infection; surgery; epidemiology; rectal neoplasms; rectum tumor; wound dehiscence; wound closure; perineum; etiology; surgical wound infection; adverse event; anus neoplasms; anus tumor; pelvic exenteration; surgical wound dehiscence; procedures; proctectomy; wound closure techniques; humans; human; male; female; plastic surgery procedures
Journal Title: BJS Open
Volume: 9
Issue: 3
ISSN: 2474-9842
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.  
Date Published: 2025-06-01
Start Page: zraf065
Language: English
DOI: 10.1093/bjsopen/zraf065
PUBMED: 40503607
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC12159743
DOI/URL:
Notes: The MSK Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA008748) is acknowledge in the PDF -- Corresponding authors is MSK author: Emmanouil P. Pappou -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Philip B Paty
    501 Paty
  2. Joseph Disa
    265 Disa
  3. Babak Mehrara
    457 Mehrara
  4. Peter G Cordeiro
    288 Cordeiro
  5. Martin R Weiser
    540 Weiser
  6. Evan Matros
    208 Matros
  7. Garrett Nash
    267 Nash
  8. Colleen Marie McCarthy
    144 McCarthy
  9. Jesse Joshua Smith
    227 Smith
  10. Maria   Widmar
    78 Widmar
  11. Joseph Henry Dayan
    101 Dayan
  12. Robert J Allen Jr
    102 Allen Jr
  13. Jonas Allan Nelson
    219 Nelson
  14. Emmanouil Pappou
    93 Pappou
  15. Iris Hsin - chu Wei
    68 Wei
  16. Michelle Renee Coriddi
    63 Coriddi
  17. Farooq Shahzad
    39 Shahzad
  18. Janet Andrea Alvarez
    14 Alvarez
  19. Roni Rosen
    14 Rosen
  20. Aron Peter Bercz
    12 Bercz
  21. Hiroyuki Sonoda
    1 Sonoda