Objective  To analyze the significance and clinical application of preserving left colon artery in laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer.

  Methods  A total of 100 patients who received laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected in the study. According to whether left colonic artery was preserved during operation, the patients were divided into control group and observation group, with 50 cases in each group. The left colon artery was not retained in the control group, while the left colon artery was retained in the observation group. The intraoperative bleeding volume, operation time, ventilation time, hospitalization time, number of lymph node dissection, pathological results and recovery were compared and analyzed between the two groups.

  Results  There were no significant difference in bleeding volume, operation time, hospitalization time and number of lymph node dissection between the two groups (P>0.05). The postoperative ventilation time of the observation group was significantly shorter than that of the control group (2.56±0.41) d vs. (2.81±0.53) d, P < 0.05. There were no significant difference in histological types, TNM staging, the incidences of urinary retention and sexual dysfunction between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of anastomotic leakage in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group(P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer with left colon artery preservation has no effect on intraoperative bleeding volume, operation time, ventilation time, hospitalization time, number of lymph node dissection and postoperative pathological results, but it can reduce the incidence of complications caused by anastomotic leakage.