Laparoscopic Surgery for Colon Cancer: Principles and Pitfalls

Abstract

Laparoscopic colon cancer resection has been a successful alternative of open surgery, based on accumulated evidence. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were significantly decreased with laparoscopic technique, and oncologic outcome was not inferior to open technique. In the age of complete mesocolic excision, feasibility of laparoscopic technique has been reevaluated, and several technical considerations are under discussion. In Asian countries including Korea, Japan, and China, precise dissection along the embryological plane and central vessel ligation has been regarded as a standard procedure for colon cancer surgery, even in laparoscopic surgery. With the accumulation of experience of laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision, penetration rate of laparoscopic colon cancer surgery in Asian countries is higher than western countries, and quality of colon cancer resection is getting better. In the same time, standardization of procedure is important to improve quality of laparoscopic colon cancer surgery and to educate trainee. In procedure details of laparoscopic colon cancer resection, there are some differences according to anatomical location of colon cancer in the viewpoint of preparation and procedure details.