Morbidity of colostomy reversal.

OBJECTIVE: To determine morbidity after colostomy reversal at a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The retrospective case series was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised records of patients aged 15 years or more who underwent colostomy reversal from January 2003 to December 2011. Data was collected regarding demographics, procedure dates, indication, as well as type and location of colostomy. Details of colostomy reversal, including pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative variables were recorded. RESULTS: The mean age of the 96 patients was 40±16 years; 72(75%) of them being males. The most frequent indications for fashioning of colostomy were bowel perforation in 53 (55.2%) and malignancy in 9(9.3%) patients. Intra-operative complications occurred in 5(5.2%) with bowel perforation in 3(3.1%) and bleeding in 2(2%) patients. Overall, 40(41.6%) patients had post-operative local complications; the most common being wound infection in 19(19.8%) followed by incisional hernia 15(15.6%). Patients who experienced post-operative complications had significantly longer hospital stay compared to those without complications (9±2.8 vs. 7±2.4days; p=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Colostomy reversal was associated with non-negligible morbidity. The most common complications were wound infection and incisional hernia.