Previous abdominal surgery and its related adhesions are usually a relative contraindication for laparoscopic surgery or reason for conversion.

This study aim to identify patients with previous abdominal surgery and compare the clinical outcomes in patients with and without previous abdominal surgery.

Data was collected prospectively from September 2006 to Dec 2010 of all laparoscopic colorectal resections done for both benign and malignant diseases.

Out of 718 patients 476 had no previous abdominal surgery (Group A), whilst 190 patients had previous abdominal surgery not involving colonic surgery (Group B), and 52 had previous bowel surgery (Group C). The conversion rate was 4% for all groups, the re-admission rate was 11.8% for Group A, 12.6% for Group B and 9.6% for Group C, the median length of stay was 4 days for Groups A and B and 5 days for Group C. There was no statistically significant difference between groups for any of the above measures. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the length of operative time between groups. Patients in Group A and Group B requiring a median of 180 minutes, whilst Group C required a median of 210 minutes of operative time. (P = 0.026 and 0.002, respectively).

Previous abdominal surgery, including previous colonic surgery, confers no added risk of conversion to an open operation, morbidity or mortality for patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal surgery. The operative time however is longer (30 minutes) for patients with previous colonic surgery.