To investigate the clinical outcome of single-port, multi-ports laparoscopic surgery and open surgery for rectal cancer.

The clinical data of 70 patients with rectal cancer, who receive surgical treatment, were analyzed retrospectively, including 25 cases of single-port, 21 cases of multi-ports laparoscopic surgery and 24 cases of open surgery. Clinical data were analyzed by using statistical software SPSS 19.0. Measurement data such as perioperative indicators were expressed as mean±standard deviation (±s), and one-way ANOVA was used for comparison between the groups. Count data, such as postoperative complication rate, were expressed as %, and were examined by using Pearson χ² test. A P value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant difference.

The operation time in open surgery group was significantly less than those either in the single-port or multi-ports laparoscopy group, hower with more blood loss Incision length of single-port group was significantly better than those either in multi-ports laparoscopy group or open surgery group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference of the tumor size, harvested lymph nodes, the number of positive harvested lymph nodes and postoperative complications between three groups (P>0.05).

There were no significant difference between single-port and multi-ports laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer, however single-incision laparoscopic surgery has smaller incision and better cosmetic effect. Laparoscopic surgery has advantages such as less trauma and faster postoperative recovery, and shorter operation time and lower total hospitalization cost.