Objective To investigate the effect of indocyanine green(ICG) fluorescence imaging to indicate blood supply of sigmoid-rectal anastomosis in laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer. Methods Here a retrospective cohort study including 175 consecutive patients with rectal cancer scheduled for laparoscopic surgery in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Renji Hospital between January 2019 and December 2022 was analysed. These patients were classified into two groups, according to using ICG or not within surgery: the ICG group (n=65) and the control group (n=110). Operation situations and complications were compared between the two groups. Results The operation time of ICG group was longer than that of control group [(151.6±4.8) min vs (139.5±3.7) min, P=0.04], and the preventive ileostomy rate was lower than that of control group (12.3% vs 34.6%, P=0.01), while the other operation data (intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node dissection), were similar between the two groups (P>0.05). The rate of anastomotic leakage in ICG group were lower than that in control group (4.6% vs 14.6%, P=0.04), and there was no significant differences in wound infection, urinary retention and intestinal obstruction between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions The ICG displays that the blood supply in laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer can reduce the incidence of anastomotic leakage, which improves the surgical safety and the quality of postoperative life.
