Colostomy closure on a gynecologic oncology service.

From 7/1/85 to 6/31/92 25 colostomy closures were performed. Twenty-one of the colostomies were performed in relation to gynecologic cancer and the remaining 4 were performed for benign pelvic disease. Nineteen patients underwent simple closure of a transverse loop colostomy. The other 6 patients had their colostomy closed in association with a laparotomy. There were no intraoperative complications related to the colostomy closure. There was 1 postoperative mortality secondary to adult respiratory distress syndrome following reoperation for stricture in the early postoperative period. Three other patients also experienced significant postoperative complications for an overall complication rate of 16%. These included one subcutaneous wound dehiscence, one subcutaneous wound infection, and one anastomotic stricture. One patient required a second colostomy due to recurrence of an obstruction by ovarian cancer in the rectosigmoid area. From the results of this small study, it would appear that colostomy closure is a reasonable endeavor in a selected group of gynecologic cancer patients.