Anal cancer surgeries and procedures
In most cases, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are effective treatments for anal cancer. But about 15 percent of patients will also need anal cancer surgery.
Doctors typically remove perianal skin cancers using surgery. If you have anal canal cancer, your treatment plan most likely will not involve surgery.
Penn Medicine offers patients one of the most advanced colorectal surgery programs in the United States with a nationally recognized record for high-quality patient care and survivorship. Our surgeons perform two types of surgery for anal cancer—local resection and abdominoperineal resection (APR)—to remove a tumor while preserving muscle movement. Close surveillance and follow-up with the surgeon and medical oncologist are needed to ensure that rare recurrences are detected early.
This procedure removes the tumor and some healthy tissues that surround it. Surgeons do local resections on tumors that are small and haven’t spread. Local resection can cure the cancer.
After the surgery, you should still have control over your bowel movements because the sphincter muscles and anus are intact.
While local resection for anal canal cancer is rare, our surgeons have the expertise to perform this procedure, if appropriate.
If other treatments don’t work or the cancer returns, your doctor may recommend an abdominoperineal resection. During APR surgery, your surgeon:
- Removes the anus, rectum, part of the colon, and sometimes lymph nodes
- Performs a colostomy by attaching the remaining colon to a surgically made opening in your abdomen (stoma)
- Attaches a small bag to collect stool to the stoma
This treatment requires wearing a colostomy bag permanently to collect and remove bodily waste.
APR surgery is a major operation, but we are with you every step of the way. Your care team supports you as you recover, adjust, and get back to daily life.