ABSTRACT
The basis of curative treatment of colonic cancer remains surgical excision. The general, pragmatic rule for the extent of vascular dissection is that the central vessels supplying the part of the bowel affected by the tumour should be taken down on both sides. The vascular dissection also determines how much colon has to be taken out, as obviously only viable bowel should be preserved in order to facilitate anastomotic healing. A basic rule is at least 10 cm of bowel measured from the tumour on both sides should be resected, as lateral lymphatic spread has been shown to travel that far. As lymphatic drainage runs along the supplying arterial blood supply, lymphadenectomy should include the lymph nodes along the arteries. General recommendations are that the central arteries to both sides of the malignant colonic cancer should be removed at their origin, as lymphatic spread is found in both directions.
