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Rationale: Retroperitoneal colonic perforation is a rare cause of retroperitoneal abscess. It presents, more frequently in frail elderly patients, with heterogeneous signs and symptoms which hamper the clinical diagnosis. Subcutaneous emphysema with pneumomediastinum and iliopsoas muscle abscess are unusual signs. Colonic retroperitoneal perforation may be consequent to diverticulitis or locally advanced colon cancer. Due to the anatomy of the retroperitoneal space and different physiopathology, diverticular perforation may present with air and pus collection; on the other hand perforated colon cancer may cause groin mass and psoas abscess. We reported 2 cases of colonic retroperitoneal perforation from diverticulitis and locally advanced colon cancer, respectively. Aim of this report is to improve differential diagnosis based on clinical signs., Patients' Concerns: A 71-year-old man presented with pain in his left side, fatigue, fever, nausea, massive subcutaneous emphysema of the neck, and Blumberg sign in the left iliac fossa. A 67-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, sub-occlusion, left groin mass, left groin, and lower limb pain during walking, negative Blumberg sign., Diagnosis: In the first patient the computerized tomography revealed pneumoperitoneum, gas in the mesosigma, pneumomediastinum, wall thickening of the descending colon, and retroperitoneal collection from diverticular perforation. In the second patient abdominal CT scan found thickening of the sigmoid colon adherent to the iliopsoas and fluid collection., Interventions: In the first patient, a left hemicolectomy extending to the transverse colon, followed by a toilette and debridement of the retroperitoneum were performed. In the second patient, tumor of descending colon perforated in the retroperitoneum with iliopsoas abscess was treated with left hemicolectomy and a drainage of the abscess., Outcomes: The first patient underwent right colectomy with ileostomy in the 7 postoperative day for large bowel necrosis. He died of sepsis 2 days after. The second patient had regular postoperative and he is still alive., Lessons: The spread of retroperitoneal abscess in complicated colonic diverticulitis is different from that in advanced colonic cancer. The former can present with a subcutaneous emphysema, the latter with a groin mass. Hence a thorough clinical examination and radiological studies are needed to diagnose these conditions.

Background: Hemicolectomy is the treatment of choice for intestinal obstruction from right colon cancer. This review compares the laparoscopic vs open access in hemicolectomy for patients with right colon cancer., Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies published after January 2017 was performed according to the Prisma guidelines. The study has been recorded on the Prospero register (CRD42016044108)., Results: Five studies were included for review. Only one anastomotic leak was reported in conventional open anastomosis group (1.9%) and none of the studies included in the meta-analysis reported re-operations during the first 30 postoperative days. The 30-day postoperative mortality did not differ between the two groups. The length of incision, blood loss, early mobilization after surgery, the 30-day postoperative overall complication rate and hospital length of stay were significantly shorter in the laparoscopic group. The difference in the duration of procedure was statistically significant in favor of the open group. The number of dissected lymph nodes, the overall survival at 5 years and time to flatus were described only in one study, without any significant difference. Finally, none of the trials reported any information concerning differences in the costs between the two techniques., Conclusions: The better outcomes described in this study achieved with laparoscopy, must be interpreted with caution because of the small number of patients involved, the selection and publication bias and the low level of evidence of the analysed trials. Indeed, the advantages of a minimally invasive approach, which have been demonstrated by the present meta-analysis, should encourage the use of laparoscopy also in emergency setting., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Even with the advances in surgical technique and perioperative care, morbidity and mortality after colorectal cancer surgery remain considerable, and patients (pt) who present as an emergency have an even higher mortality and morbidity rate., Methods: A total of 35 pt with caecum or ascending colon cancer between January 2007 and June 2015, three departments in Italy and in Poland, were included in the study. The intention of surgery in all cases was curative resection with ileo-colic anastomosis. Comparative statistical analysis was performed., Results: Acute bowel obstruction was the major complication of CRC that led to an emergency hemicolectomy. Postoperative mortality and morbidity rates were in total 12.5 and 28.1%, respectively. All the deaths happened in Poland. Of the pt, 42.8% had morbidity in Poland and 16.6% in Italy. Out of the pt, 25% presenting with perforation: 25% died, 25% had wound dehiscence, 12.5% had pulmonary oedema, and 12.5% had an intra-abdominal abscess. The mean age of the pt with complications in Poland and in Italy was 79.3 and 72.0 years, respectively., Conclusion: We observed that particularly lethal combination is older age, perforation with peritonitis and advanced stage of the cancer.