We thank Doctors Weber and Hohenberger for their kind comments [1]; however, we would like to stress some points of interest. The variance of colon arterial anatomy is an established fact and has been well pointed out that it can be due to definitions used, population examined, or methodology [2]. The numbers are not crucial; it is more important that the surgeon be aware of the individual variants, especially those that can complicate surgical procedures. We also have had the impression that the right colic artery is not found at surgery as often as with radiology. On occasion, a right colic artery seen at preoperative MDCT angiography was of such a small caliber that it could be successfully cauterized at surgery. However, this does not imply that there are no lymph nodes or vessels in its vicinity. Moreover, there are data in the literature about metastasis in cecal and ascending colon cancer to the central ileocolic, right colic, and middle colic nodes at rates of 11.1, 5.0, and 6.1%, respectively [3].
展开▼
