Gallagher, JessicaCook, Timothy2025-10-162025-10-162020-07Gallagher, J., & Cook, T. A. (2020). Impact of laparoscopic surgery on lymph node harvest in elective colorectal cancer surgery. Colorectal Disease, 22(Suppl. 1), https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.1516910.1111/codi.15169https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14709/1098Background: Lymph node (LN) harvest is a key part of colorectal cancer staging.The widely accepted standard is a minimum of 12 nodes per specimen. A greater number of nodes has been associated with a better prognosis. There are conflicting data on LN harvests in laparoscopic compared with open resections. This study aimed to assess if surgical access impacts on LN harvest and potential differences between right and left-sided resections.Methods: Data were collected on patients undergoing elective colorectal cancer resections between April 2016 and March 2018. Surgical access, type of operation and LN yield were recorded.Results: There were 516 patients (M:F 301:215), 350 laparoscopic, 126 open, 40 converted-to-open. Mean LN harvests for laparoscopic and open right-sided resections were 26.3 and 29.1 respectively. LN harvests were 23 and 23.3 for laparoscopic and open left-sided colonic resections respectively. Mean LN yield for rectal resections was laparoscopic: 19.3 and open: 22.3. There was no difference in the proportion of patients with fewer than 12 LNs following right-sided resections. A larger proportion of patients undergoing laparoscopic left-sided colonic and rectal resections had fewer than 12 LNs (Left colon: 13.9% vs 3.9%, Rectum: 18.2% vs 10.2%).Discussion: High mean LN harvests are achievable in laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery. The proportion of patients with fewer than 12 LNs was greater after laparoscopic resection. These data can be “lost” when average LN yields are presented. Caution must be taken in interpreting LN data and ongoing monitoring is required to ensure minimum standards are achievedenGastroenterologySurgeryOncologyConference Abstract