ESCP focused on the topic of colorectal cancer throughout March which tied in with the wider European Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (ECCAM).

Educational content was shared throughout the month by Mostafa Shalaby, Y-ESCP member and Lecturer and Colorectal Consultant Surgeon (Egypt), which included innovative research and interactive Twitter polls to encourage conversation and gauge preferred treatment methods. Here’s a round-up of highlights which you may have missed.


Mostafa Shalaby introduces #ColorectalCancerMonth:


Mechanical bowel preparation

A 2017 ESCP collaborating group found that combined oral antibiotics with mechanical bowel preparation halved the odds of anastomotic leak following left sided colorectal surgery compared to those with no bowel preparation. The research can be viewed here.

Mostafa shared the poll below with the colorectal community on Twitter which concluded following 41 responses. The majority voted for MBP with oral Abx as their preferred method of treatment.

Pre op bowel prep poll


Loop ileostomy or loop transverse colostomy

The use of loop ileostomy or loop transverse colostomy represents an important issue in colorectal surgery which is often debated. Mostafa shared a Cochrane systematic review which found it’s not possible to express a preference for the use of either loop ileostomy or loop colostomy. 

View the review here