The factors affecting development of low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) in patients undergoing sphincter preserving surgery for rectal cancer.
OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence of major low anterior resection syndrome (LARS), using the LARS score, in patients who underwent sphincterpreserving surgery for rectal cancer, and to explore the factors affecting major LARS development. METHOD The medical records were retrospectively reviewed of patients, who were operated for rectal cancer at a tertiary center between January 2009 and October 2017. The inclusion criteria were: The absence of other colorectal or proctologic diseases, the application of anterior resection (high anterior resection, low anterior resection, extremely low anterior resection), follow-up of more than one year after the primary surgery, and follow-up of more than one year after protective ileostomy closure, and the absence of an unreversed stoma, ongoing treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, recurrence, and metastatic disease. LARS was diagnosed using the LARS
