Patients undergoing anterior rectal resection with protective ileostomy will follow routine clinical practice.

During hospital admission for ileostomy closure surgery, the stoma therapist reinforces the information on the possibility of anterior resection syndrome (ARS) and hygienic-dietary measures. At the level of the ARS, the patient is informed of the possibility of increased frequency of bowel movements, evacuation dysfunction, such as urgency to defecate or feeling of incomplete emptying. At the level of diet, an astringent diet is recommended during the first week after ileostomy closure to avoid liquid stools. It is also recommended at the level of perineal hygiene to use a cleanser with a pH similar to that of the skin, applying the least possible force on the skin, dry gently after each bowel movement and apply a skin protection product to avoid dermatitis associated with incontinence.

Stimulation of efferent loop: 3 weeks before the ileostomy closure surgery, efferent loop will be stimulated with 250 ml of water and thickened every 48-hours the first two weeks and once daily the thrid week.

Rehabilitation of pelvic floor: 3 months after the ileostomy closure surgery, patient will be referred to the pelvic floor unit for pelvic floor rehabilitation.

Stimulation of efferent loop: 3 weeks before the ileostomy closure surgery, efferent loop will be stimulated with 250 ml of water and thickened.

This procedure consists of introducing through the light efferent loop ileostomy 250 ml of water with thickener every 48-hours during the first two weeks and once daily the thrid week with a Foley catheter. Patient will be provided with all the material and the procedure sheet for all the stimulation of the efferent loop sessions. This technique will be performed at patient's home until the day before the ostomy patient closure surgery.

The EORTC QLQ CR-29 questionnaire consists of 29 items (Likert scale), with a response scale for each of them from 1 to 4, with the following structure: 1 = Not at All 2 = A little; 3 = Quite a Bit; 4 = Very much. The QLQ-CR29 has five functional and 18 symptom scales. It contains four subscales (urinary frequency (UF), blood and mucus in stool (BMS), stool frequency (SF), and body image (BI)) and 19 single items (urinary incontinence, dysuria, abdominal pain, buttock pain, bloating, dry mouth, hair loss, taste, anxiety, weight, flatulence, fecal incontinence, sore skin, embarrassment, stoma care problems, sexual interest (men), impotence, sexual interest (women), and dyspareunia). Patients are asked to indicate their symptoms during the past week(s). Scores can be linearly transformed to provide a score from 0 to 100. Higher scores represent better functioning on the functional scales and a higher level of symptoms on the symptom scales.

The EORTC QLQ CR-29 questionnaire consists of 29 items (Likert scale), with a response scale for each of them from 1 to 4, with the following structure: 1 = Not at All 2 = A little; 3 = Quite a Bit; 4 = Very much. The QLQ-CR29 has five functional and 18 symptom scales. It contains four subscales (urinary frequency (UF), blood and mucus in stool (BMS), stool frequency (SF), and body image (BI)) and 19 single items (urinary incontinence, dysuria, abdominal pain, buttock pain, bloating, dry mouth, hair loss, taste, anxiety, weight, flatulence, fecal incontinence, sore skin, embarrassment, stoma care problems, sexual interest (men), impotence, sexual interest (women), and dyspareunia). Patients are asked to indicate their symptoms during the past week(s). Scores can be linearly transformed to provide a score from 0 to 100. Higher scores represent better functioning on the functional scales and a higher level of symptoms on the symptom scales.

Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score The LARS questionnaire consists of 5 questions which include: gas incontinence, fluid incontinence, stool frequency, fractionation of defecation and defecation urgency. Each question is scored based on the answer; the total can range from 0 to 42 points. According to the score, the patients are classified into two groups: without LARS, which correspond to scores between 0 and 20 points, and with LARS, which range from 21 to 42 points; Furthermore, this second group is subdivided into mild LARS (21 to 29 points) and severe LARS (30 to 42 points).

Auscultation of intestinal peristaltism and emission of gases and depositions.