Objective:

To describe the morphological characteristics of rectal tumors by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to establish a rectometry scoring system (R.E.C.T.A.L. score) that enables the surgical complexity grading estimation.

Material and methods:

An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, ambispective study was carried out selecting a sample of patients that came to the Hospital Ángeles Pedregal from March 2017 to December 2019. Including all patients diagnosed with rectal carcinoma who would have undergone MRI, the instrument referred to as R.E.C.T.A.L. score (R.E.C.T.A.L. RM HAP/2019) was applied to patients to measure qualitative and quantitative variables, thus determine surgical risk.

Results:

Of the 48 patients that entered the study, 16 (33%) of them had a low surgical complexity, 16 (33%) moderate and 16 (33%) high.

Conclusions:

The proposed punctuation for surgical complexity has not been accepted. In our population that includes patients with rectal tumors assessed by MRI, specific modifications were made for this type of injury and we found that provides specific details that can be used by surgeons to perform an adequate surgical approach and to complement it with adjunctive therapy.