Colorectal resection without mechanical colon cleansing: experience with 54 patients

introduction: preoperative mechanical cleansing of the colon has been frequently questioned lately. the purpose of this study was to present the experience of our team with colorectal resection without conventional mechanical preparation of the large bowel. methods: the study retrospectively evaluated 54 patients (mean age=59 (34-87) years old; 36 (66.7%) females and 18 (33.3%) males) who underwent elective colorectal resections without conventional mechanical preparation of the large bowel at the hospital santa rosa in cuiabá (mt), from january 2003 to december 2006. outcome variables were length of stay and postoperative complications. results: mortality was 1.8% (one case). median length of stay was four (2-12) days and mode was three days (n=17; 31.5%). no case of anastomotic dehiscence was observed. postoperative complications occurred in six patients: serous collection of incision (two cases), partial dehiscence of abdominal wall requiring re-suture (two cases) and prolonged ileus (two cases). conclusion: as observed in recent literature, routine preoperative mechanical bowel cleansing is no longer justified. colorectal resection without bowel preparation is safe.