Abdomino-perineal Resection

T HE abdomino-perineal operation, commonly used in treating atients with cancer of the rectum and the rectosigmoid, is not a new surgical technic; it's old, relatively speaking. It has been alternately lauded and frowned upon and, at this time, it is once again regarded by most surgeons as the most adequate treatment for cancer of the rectum. Cancers higher in the colon, particularly in the sigmoid, can probably be treated best by a less radical procedure. We can't explain the etiology of cancer of the rectum any more than we can tell what causes cancer in other parts of the body. In a few cases, trauma can be isolated as the etiological agent but these cases are few indeed. For possible explanations as to why the others occur, we must refer to the family history in an effort to discover an inherent or