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Surgical Management of Anorectal and Colonic Diseases pp 423–435Cite as

Radiation Injury

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Abstract

Deleterious effects of radiation on normal tissues were recognized soon after Roentgen’s original publication on “A New Kind of Ray” in 1885 [65]. Rowland [66] reported a case of actinic dermatitis in 1896 and Walsh [78] reported gastrointestinal toxicity in 1887. Thereafter, radiation-related damage to all organs has been described and extensively studied. Despite the evolution of radiotherapy into a more powerful, accurate, and safer tool for tumor control, radiation injury remains its most important limiting factor. In fact, as this modality gained broader applications, a parallel increase in the number of patients with radiation-induced complications has been seen [1,50].

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Authors
  1. H. A. Vuilleumier
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  2. E. D. Reis
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Départment de Chirurgie, Policlinique de Chirurgie, Hôpital Cantonal, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, CH-1211, Genève 4, Switzerland

    Marc-Claude Marti

  2. Service de Chirurgie A, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH-1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jean-Claude Givel

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Vuilleumier, H.A., Reis, E.D. (1998). Radiation Injury. In: Marti, MC., Givel, JC. (eds) Surgical Management of Anorectal and Colonic Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10169-8_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10169-8_43

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