Transanal rectal dissection: A procedure to assist achievement of laparoscopic total mesorectal excision for bulky tumor in the narrow pelvis

BackgroundLaparoscopic approaches for colorectal surgery have been improved recently; however, it is often difficult to achieve total mesorectal excision (TME) for lower rectal cancer laparoscopically because of a narrow pelvis and a thickened mesentery.MethodsTME was successfully performed in 6 patients (4 men, 2 women) with dissection of the rectum transanally from the anal side of the tumor. The preoperative stage was T3N1M0 in 1 patient and T3N0M0 in 5 patients. The mean body mass index was 29.8 kg/m2 (range, 28.7–31.2 kg/m2), and the mean tumor size was 46.5 mm (range, 30–60 mm).ResultsThe mean duration of the anal portion of the operation was 64 minutes (56 minutes in women, 79 minutes in men). No complications occurred during surgery or postoperatively.ConclusionThis technique is a simple and effective procedure for successfully performing laparoscopic TME of lower rectal cancer in patients with bulky tumors, narrow pelvises, and thickened mesenteries.