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Surgical Anatomy of the Colon and Complete Mesocolic Excision

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Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

The outcome for rectal cancer has improved during the last decades due to implementation of total mesorectal excision. A similar improvement has not been observed for colon cancer. There is emerging evidence that standardised meticulous surgery and central lymph node dissection as performed in complete mesocolic excision (CME) improve oncological outcomes. The knowledge of the anatomy is the key to safe CME surgery, as vascular structures, which are usually not exposed in conventional colon surgery, becomes the landmarks of the procedures. This chapter focuses mainly on the complexity of the colon’s vascular anatomy and how to use a standardised laparoscopic approach to perform CME safely.

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Bertelsen, C.A., Miskovic, D. (2021). Surgical Anatomy of the Colon and Complete Mesocolic Excision. In: Baatrup, G. (eds) Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58846-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58846-5_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-58845-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-58846-5

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