Malignant rectal obstruction within 5 cm of the anal verge: is there a role for expandable metallic stent placement?

BackgroundPlacement of expandable metallic stents (EMS) has been considered contraindicated for patients with malignant rectal obstruction within 5 cm of the anal verge because of the potential problems of anal pain.ObjectiveOur purpose was to investigate the technical feasibility, clinical effectiveness, and safety of EMS placement in patients with malignant rectal obstruction within 5 cm of the anal verge.DesignRetrospective study.SettingSingle tertiary referral university hospital.PatientsThe sites of obstruction included the rectum within 5 cm (range, 25-50 mm) of the anal verge in 16 patients (group A) and more than 5 cm (range, 53-74 mm) in 14 patients (group B).InterventionsPlacement of 3 types of EMS.Main Outcome MeasurementsComplications including pain were evaluated and compared between 2 groups with the Fisher exact test.ResultsThe overall technical success rate was 100%. Colon perforation occurred in 2 patients, who underwent emergency surgery. Ten (62.5%) of group A and 1 (7.1%) of group B complained of pain (P = .011). In 3 of the 10 patients in group A, the pain disappeared spontaneously within a week or was tolerated by the patients without use of analgesics, although the remaining 7 patients of group A and the 1 patient in group B needed analgesics until death or elective surgery.LimitationsRetrospective study.ConclusionsPlacement of EMS in patients with malignant rectal obstruction within 5 cm of the anal verge seems feasible and relatively safe and may provide adequate palliation and preoperative decompression of obstruction symptoms. Anal pain was tolerable to the patients with or without use of analgesics.