Hartmann procedure


Hartmann procedure

Surgery An operation for an obstructing unresectable rectosigmoid CA in which a proximal colostomy is created in the left lower quadrant and the distal rectal stump is sewn/stapled shut, forming a Hartmann pouch. See Colorectal cancer.

Hartmann procedure

(hart′man″, ar-mon′) [Henri Hartmann, Fr. surgeon, 1860–1952] The surgical removal of a diseased portion of the distal colon or proximal rectum with formation of an end colostomy, accompanied by oversewing of the distal colonic or rectal remnant. This procedure may be the first stage of a two-part operation, in which at a later date, the colostomy and the oversewn remnant are reconnected. The Hartmann procedure is most often employed in debilitated patients or in emergent circumstances in which primary anastomosis or complete distal segment excision would not be appropriate.