Surgery may be used to treat very early anal cancer or in a small number of other situations. Your cancer specialists will explain whether surgery is recommended for you.
Learn more about:
Surgery for very small tumours
An operation called local excision can remove very small tumours near the entrance of the anus (anal margin) if they are not too close to the muscles of the anus. The surgeon will give you a local or general anaesthetic and insert an instrument into the anus to remove the tumours. Once the wound heals, the anal canal will still work in the normal way.
Abdominoperineal resection
For most people with anal cancer, chemoradiation is the main treatment. If you cannot have chemoradiation because you have previously had radiation therapy to the pelvic region, or if anal cancer comes back, a major operation called an abdominoperineal resection may be an option.
In an abdominoperineal resection, the anus, rectum and part of the colon (large bowel) are removed. The surgeon uses the remaining colon to create a permanent stoma, which is an opening in the abdomen that allows faeces to leave the body. A stoma bag is worn on the outside of the body to collect the faeces.
For more on this, see Stomas.
Recovery after surgery
Your recovery time will depend on the type of surgery you had and your general health. You will be given medicine to control any pain you may experience. Do not put anything into your anus after surgery until your doctor says the area is healed (usually 6–8 weeks).
→ READ MORE: Sex and desire after treatment
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Glen Guerra, Colorectal Surgeon, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and St Vincents Hospital Melbourne, VIC; Holly Davey, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Queensland; Prof Peter Gibbs, Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, The University of Melbourne, Medical Oncologist, Western Hospital, VIC; A/Prof Ian Faragher, The University of Melbourne, Head of Colorectal and General Surgery Unit, Western Health, VIC; Justin Hargreaves, Medical Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Bendigo Health Cancer Centre, VIC; Prof Richard Hillman, Senior Staff Specialist, HIV and Immunology, St Vincent’s Health Network, Sydney, Conjoint Professor, St Vincent’s Clinical Campus and The Kirby Institute, NSW; A/Prof George Hruby, Radiation Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital, Visiting Radiation Oncologist, Genesiscare and Dubbo Base Hospital, NSW; Annie Jacobs, Consumer; Mariad O’Gorman, Clinical Psychologist, Bankstown Cancer Therapy Centre, NSW; Terry Scully, Consumer.
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