17.12.12
Bowel cancer postoperative deaths fall
The number of bowel cancer patients who die after surgery has fallen for the fourth consecutive year.
The National Bowel Cancer Audit found that 5.1% of people diagnosed with the disease died 90 days after their operation from 2010 to 2011, compared to 6.4% who died within 90 days of surgery from 2007 to 2008.
The audit showed that keyhole or laparoscopic surgery rates rose in the same time period. This surgery is associated with shorter hospital stays and a reduced risk of post-operative death.
Fewer died after keyhole surgery compared to those who underwent open surgery; however these operations are typically performed on fitter patients with a less advanced form of the disease.
Emergency admissions of bowel cancer patients continue to be a source of concern, as over 20% of patients are admitted as an emergency with severe symptoms. Almost a third of these admissions were not suitable for surgical intervention.
Nigel Scott, audit clinical lead and consultant colorectal surgeon at the Royal Preston Hospital, said: “The National Bowel Cancer Audit continues to make a contribution to understanding and improving the patient journey with bowel cancer. However, bowel cancer emergency admissions are a persistent and very significant health problem.
“Symptom awareness campaigns are useful to break down the taboos of bottoms and bowels that lock these symptoms behind the bathroom door. But emergency surgery continues to be the Cinderella of surgical practice in the UK.
“A recent survey of surgeons highlighted that the NHS pressures currently work against emergency cases with 55% of surgeons describing inadequate emergency theatre access. Only 15% of emergency surgeons have a comprehensive interventional radiology service out of hours and this deficiency has a major detrimental effect on the use of colonic stenting for the emergency colorectal cancer admission. These findings are also mirrored in a recently published report by the Department of Health and the Royal College of Surgeons.”
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