Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery with or without Completion Total Mesorectal Excision for T2 and T3 Rectal Carcinoma

Conclusions: Although local recurrence after TEM-only for pT2 –3 rectal cancer is worse compared to the recurrence that occurs after completion surgery, disease-specific survival is comparable between both groups. The lower unadjusted overall survival in the TEM-only group indicates that TEM-only may be a valid alternative in older and frail patients, especi ally when high morbidity of completion surgery is taken into consideration. Nevertheless, completion surgery should always be advised when curation is intended.Dig Surg
Source: Digestive Surgery - Category: Surgery Source Type: research