Minimally invasive surgery for early lower GI cancer

Endoscopic submucosal dissection--current success and future directions

More than 10 years have passed since endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was first developed in Japan. ESD enables en bloc complete resection of superficial gastrointestinal neoplasms regardless of the size and location of the lesions. With improvements in techniques and devices, excellent therapeutic results have been achieved despite the inherent technical difficulties of this procedure. ESD aiming for curative treatment can be performed for gastrointestinal neoplasms without risk of lymph node metastasis. Accurate histopathologic examination of the resected specimen is required to determine the risk of lymph node metastasis, for which en bloc resection is beneficial. Owing to the high success rate of en bloc complete resection and accurate histopathologic examination, tumour recurrence rates after ESD are reported to be very low in Japan. Excellent results of ESD in a large number of cases have also been reported from other Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and China. Although scepticism exists among Western clinicians regarding the application of ESD, it is developing slowly and reports indicate promising results in some European countries. With further development of technologies, such as endoscopic robotics, ESD could become the worldwide treatment of choice for early gastrointestinal neoplasms.

Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancers: Current status

Laparoscopy was introduced more than 15 years ago into clinical practice. However, its role in colorectal surgery was not well established for want of better skills and technology. This coupled with high incidences of port site recurrences, prevented laparoscopic surgery from being incorporated into mainstream colorectal cancer surgery. A recent increase in the number of reports, retrospective analyses, randomized trials and multicentric trials has now provided sufficient data to support the role of laparoscopy in colorectal cancer surgery. We, thus, present a review of the published data on the feasibility, safety, short - and long-term outcomes following laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancers. While the data available strongly favors the use of laparoscopic surgery in colonic cancer, larger well powered studies are required to prove or disprove its role in rectal cancer.

Application of endoscopic submucosal dissection for removal of deep invasive submucosal colon carcinoma

Endoscopic submucosal (sm) dissection (ESD) is a recently used technique that enables en-bloc resection of large colorectal tumors allowing a more precise histopathological analysis of the resected specimen. However, it has not been widely adopted even in Japan mainly due to its technical difficulty and increased risk of perforation. Herein, we present an ESD-treated lesion with deep sm invasion removed without complications, such as bleeding or perforation, from a patient at high-risk for surgical intervention. A successful ESD was achieved although the sm invasion was greater than 1000 mum from the muscularis mucosae, and the nonlifting sign was positive. It is our belief that this procedure should be performed at least in patients at high-risk for surgical intervention. At present, we have removed 16 lesions with deep sm invasion by ESD without complications, demonstrating that deep sm cancer can be successfully resected by this technique as a local resection. Herein, we report on one of these cases.

Rectal adenocarcinoma and transanal endoscopic microsurgery. Diagnostic challenges, indications and short term results in 142 consecutive patients

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to present short-term results of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) of rectal adenocarcinomas registered in a national database.

METHODS

A Danish TEM group was established in 1995. The group organized a database for prospective and consecutive registration of all TEM procedures. The perioperative course of all rectal cancers treated with TEM and registered in this database is analysed.

RESULTS

One hundred forty-two patients had TEM for rectal cancer. In 43%of the patients, the cancer diagnosis was not recognized before TEM. Eighty-five percent of all tumors were classified as benign based on macroscopic appearance; on digital rectal examination, 35% were benign, rectal ultrasound classified 15% as benign, and the preoperative biopsy was benign in 36%. Forty-three cancers (29%) were classified as low risk cancers. High ages were an indication for TEM in 22% and concurrent disease in 21%. Minor complications were encountered in 39 cases, major complications in 4 cases, and 1 patient died within 30 days.

CONCLUSION

All larger rectal tumors should be evaluated for malignancy before treatment, even if TEM is the only surgical option, due to high age and comorbidiy. Rectal ultrasound appears to produce the fewest false negative results, but it should be combined with biopsies and clinical evaluation. Multiple biopsies may be beneficial in the case of larger adenomas. When resecting large sessile tumors, there is a considerable risk of incomplete radicality. The short term mortality and morbidity of TEM is low even in old patients with comorbidiy.

Thin endoscope-assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection for large colorectal tumors (with videos)

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) enables direct submucosal dissection so even large early stage GI tumors can be resected en bloc. Colorectal ESD is technically more difficult, however, and there is an increased risk of complications such as perforation and bleeding compared with gastric ESD. As a result, further refinements are required in this procedure.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to evaluate thin endoscope-assisted (TEA) ESD, a new traction system for improving submucosal cutting line visualization.

DESIGN

Case series.

SETTING

Okayama University Hospital.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

Efficacy and safety of the TEA-ESD procedure.

RESULTS

Three cases of large, flat, elevated colorectal tumors (laterally spreading tumors) in the rectum and rectosigmoid colon were safely and successfully removed en bloc without complications. Total procedure times were 3 hours, 40 minutes, and 30 minutes with resected specimens measuring 70 x 68 mm, 38 x 35 mm, and 30 x 20 mm, respectively.

LIMITATIONS

TEA-ESD was performed in only the rectum and rectosigmoid colon.

CONCLUSIONS

This limited case series demonstrated that large laterally spreading tumors in the rectum and rectosigmoid colon could be safely resected en bloc with TEA-ESD.

Custo comparado da Microcirurgia Endoscópica Transanal (TEM) com a retossigmoidectomia anterior e com a cirurgia de amputação abdômino-perineal do reto

RACIONAL: A Microcirurgia Endoscópica Transanal (TEM) corresponde a um dos mais recentes avanços no tratamento para lesões retais benignas e malignas. OBJETIVO: Determinar o custo da TEM no Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, comparando-o ao da amputação abdômino-perineal do reto e da retossigmoidectomia anterior, estabelecendo parâmetros de custo-efetividade no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde. MÉTODOS: Estudo observacional, prospectivo e de coorte da avaliação dos custos dos três procedimentos cirúrgicos citados, enfocando gastos laboratoriais, com medicamentos e internação. Foram incluídos 74 pacientes, 27 submetidos à TEM, 29 à retossigmoidectomia anterior e 18 à amputação abdômino-perineal. RESULTADOS: Com relação à idade, não se observa diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos. O grupo da TEM apresentou o menor tempo de internação (5,51 dias) comparado à retossigmoidectomia anterior (20,41) e à amputação abdômino-perineal (18,33). Quando se consideram os custos laboratoriais, de medicamentos e de diárias hospitalares, observam-se diferenças significantes entre os três procedimentos com custo muito inferior no grupo da TEM, cerca de 2,5 a 4 vezes menor na comparação global (R$ 1.326,71 vs R$ 5.427,16 vs R$ 4.310,20, respectivamente). CONLUSÃO: As vantagens da TEM se mostram evidentes no que tange a custos de internação e permanência hospitalar, com redução significativa quando comparado às técnicas convencionais.