Treatment of left-sided colonic emergencies: a comparison of US and UK surgical practices

Background Surgeons are increasingly considering resection and primary anastomosis when treating left‐sided colonic obstruction or perforation in preference to the more traditional staged procedures. Previous studies in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA) have suggested a greater interest in single‐staged procedures amongst UK surgeons. This study was aimed to directly compare the treatment preferences between UK and US surgeons. Method A questionnaire, designed to determine the procedure of choice when faced with left‐sided colonic emergencies in patients with good and poor anaesthetic risk, was sent to 500 surgeons in the UK and 500 surgeons in the USA. Results UK surgeons were more likely to perform resection, primary anastomosis and on‐table colonic lavage in patients with sigmoid obstruction (good anaesthetic risk: P