The Incidence of Genitourinary and Gastrointestinal Complications in Open and Endoscopic Gynecologic Cancer Surgery

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of genitourinary and intestinal tract injuries in an effort to identify which factors might predispose a patient to developing one of these surgical complications. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the charts of gynecologic cancer patients who were treated at a single medical institution from January 2002 to February 2011. The following study variables were noted for evaluation: age, BMI, cancer origin, disease recurrence, a history of pelvic surgery, surgery type, operative approach and injury classification (genitourinary or gastrointestinal). Results: In our group of 1,618 patients, a total of 47 (2.9%) gastrointestinal and 18 (1.1%) genitourinary tract injuries were encountered. There were no intraoperative-related deaths but 2 patients expired 1 month after surgery. Logistic regression indicated that surgery type, undergoing an open procedure, cancerous involvement of the bowel or genitourinary tract and a history of pelvic surgery were significant predictors of operative injury occurrence [χ 2 (28) = 167.22; p < 0.001]. Conclusions: We ascertained a relatively low incidence of gastrointestinal and genitourinary complications. Nevertheless, undergoing an open procedure, a history of pelvic surgery and surgical involvement of the bowel or genitourinary tract were predictive of an increased risk for these aforementioned injuries.