tion include strictures that meet contraindications for dilation (long, fresh, ischemic), strictures re­fractory to multiple dilation or endoscopic tech­niques, and patients who continue to require a stoma for other reasons [3]. Strict adherence to selection criteria should be practiced with prefer­ence to patients having acceptable comorbidities, given the increased morbidity associated with this reoperative surgery if the anastomosis is within the pelvis [3, 5]. The Association Française de Chirurgie (AFC) score identifies four factors to predict accurately postoperative mortality and morbidity for patients treated for cancer or diver­ticulitis: age > 70, poor nutrition, neurologic co­morbidities, and emergency surgery [22]. In two of the three landmark papers reviewing reopera­tive surgery success, only patients with 0–1 risk factors (mortality risk <1 %) were considered, with a resulting 70–88 % of patients possessing a functional anastomosis after 28–37 months follow-up period [19]. For reoperations, specifi­cally for anastomotic strictures, the success rate was even higher at 100 % [5]. Successful results within these three studies were measured as less than four bowel movements a day, normal conti­nence, and reduction in urgency, fragmentation, and constipation. Lefevre et al. identified three risk factors for increased likelihood of compli­cations postoperatively: male gender, first pro­cedure consisting of coloanal anastomosis, and reoperation requiring a coloanal anastomosis [3].