Endoscopic Excision of Large Colorectal Polyps as a Viable Alternative to Surgical Resection

OBJECTIVE: To determine the outcome of endoscopic excision of large colorectal polyps. DESIGN: Retrospective medical record review. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente, a large health care maintenance organization. PATIENTS: One hundred four consecutive patients with large colorectal lesions deemed not amenable to endoscopic resection at initial colonoscopy and referred for surgical resection. INTERVENTION: Endoscopic excision under intravenous sedation by 2 interventional endoscopists. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Endoscopic success (the ability to completely eradicate the original or recurrent lesion endoscopically at the index procedure or at reintervention), procedure-related complications, disease recurrence, endoscopic reintervention, and surgical intervention. RESULTS: We included 48 men (46%) and 56 women (54%) with a mean age of 67 (range, 29-92) years for analysis. Anatomic distribution of the lesions included the colon (68%) and rectum (32%). Thirty-nine patients (37%) had carcinoma. The median size of the lesions was 3.0 (range, 1-9) cm. The endoscopic success rate was 83% and was highest in patients with noncarcinoma histologic findings compared with carcinoma (P < .001). The morbidity rate was 7%, and all complications occurred in the ascending colon (P = .06). Endoscopic reintervention occurred in 25 of 92 patients (27%). Surgical intervention was undertaken in 14% of all patients. During a mean follow-up of 14 (median, 12) months, recurrent disease was noted in 10 of 86 patients (12%) and occurred more frequently in rectal lesions (P = .002). All recurrences were eradicated endoscopically. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic excision of large colorectal polyps is a viable alternative to surgical resection in a select group of patients and can be performed safely with a good success rate.