One Decade of Declining Use of Defunctioning Stomas After Rectal Cancer Surgery in the Netherlands: Are We on the Right Track?

The reduction in defunctioning stomas is paralleled with an increase in anastomotic leakage. Patients with a defunctioning stoma, however, also showed more minor complications, a prolonged length of stay, more intensive care admissions, and readmissions. In our opinion the tradeoffs of selective use should be individually considered. (Pre-proofed version) See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/C137.