Transanal Inside-Out Rectal Resection for Ultra-Low Rectal Cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACTTwo major issues encountered in the surgical resection of low rectal cancers (tumor located <6 cm from anal verge) are tumor-free surgical resection margin and adequate fields of colo-anal pull-through anastomosis. The clinical consequences of ensuring gross tumor-free surgical resection margin by transanal inside-out rectal resection technique were assessed for ultra-low rectal cancer patients. From February 2009 to September 2011, ultra-low anterior resection with a new method of eversion of the rectum through the anal canal after resecting the distal rectum and colo-anal anastomosis extracorporally performed in 30 patients (age range, 41–80 years) was reviewed. All patients received preoperative neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) before the surgical resection. The median operating time was 265 min (range, 220–400 min), and the median intraoperative blood loss was 325 ml (range, 80–855 ml). No in-hospital mortality was noted among these patients. R0 resection (tumor-free margin range, 0.9–2.5 cm) was confirmed in all patients by pathologic reports, except one patient with 0.5 cm tumor-free margin. The new surgical technique of transanal inside-out rectal resection and colo-anal pull-through anastomosis for selected patients with ultra-low rectal cancers seems to be a safe and alternative procedure.