Feasibility and advantages of transanal minimally invasive surgery: a 7-year experience with 76 cases

Abstract

Background: Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is appropriate for benign lesions that are not suitable to flexible endoscopic excision, and it can be a valuable option for malignant rectal disease, in carefully selected patients. The authors report their 7-year experience with TAMIS for treatment of rectal tumours. Methods: From May 2010 to May 2017, 76 patients un-derwent local excision of rectal lesions by a TAMIS approach. Results: Between May 2010 and May 2017, 76 patients were treated with the TAMIS approach. Of these 58% were male and 42% were female. The average age was 68 years and the average distance from the anal verge was 6 cm. The postoperative pathology reported low grade rectal adenoma (22%), high grade rectal ade-noma (20%), rectal adenocarcinoma (54%) and benign rectal lesion (4%). Twenty-two patients have had a neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. At mean follow-up of 48 months (range, 1–83 months) no fecal incontinence or other anorectal dysfunction. Local recurrence was observed in 3 patients (2 malignant, 1 benign). Conclusions: In this study, TAMIS confirmed to be a safety and feasible treatment option for precancerous polyps and early-stage rectal cancers with favorable histology.