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Critical concepts and important anatomic landmarks encountered during transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME): toward the mastery of a new operation for rectal cancer surgery

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Abstract

Over the past 3 years, colorectal surgeons have begun to adapt the technique of transanal total mesorectal excision. As international experience has been quickly forged, an improved recognition of the pitfalls and the practical details of this disruptive technique have been realized. The purpose of this technical note was to express the various nuances of transanal total mesorectal excision as learned during the course of its clinical application and international teaching, so as to rapidly communicate and share important insights with other surgeons who are in the early adoption phase of this approach. The technical points specific to transanal total mesorectal excision are addressed herein. When correctly applied, these will likely improve the quality of surgery and decrease morbidity attributable to inexperience with the transanal approach to total mesorectal excision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Hospital, Winter Park, FL, USA

    S. Atallah, M. Albert & J. R. T. Monson

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  1. S. Atallah
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  2. M. Albert
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  3. J. R. T. Monson
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Correspondence to S. Atallah.

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Conflict of interest

The authors received no funding for this study, and the research was not supported by any grants or other funding. Dr. S. Atallah and M. Albert are paid consultants for ConMed, Inc. and Applied Medical, Inc. Dr. J. R. T. Monson is an advisor for Twistle.com and received teaching honoraria from Applied Medical, Inc., and Covidien.

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This study involved no human participants. This research was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was not applicable in this study.

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Atallah, S., Albert, M. & Monson, J.R.T. Critical concepts and important anatomic landmarks encountered during transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME): toward the mastery of a new operation for rectal cancer surgery. Tech Coloproctol 20, 483–494 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10151-016-1475-x

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