Short-term outcomes from a prospective randomized trial comparing laparoscopic and open surgery for colorectal cancer

Background Randomized trials in low-risk populations have failed to show any benefit for laparoscopic compared with open colorectal resection in terms of morbidity. Furthermore, it is not known whether laparoscopic colorectal resection would yield advantages if randomization were revealed during surgery after a diagnostic laparoscopy. Methods Patients with cancer of the colon or upper rectum were randomly assigned to laparoscopic or open...