Topic Highlight
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2016; 22(2): 718-726
Published online Jan 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i2.718
Technical feasibility of laparoscopic extended surgery beyond total mesorectal excision for primary or recurrent rectal cancer
Takashi Akiyoshi
Takashi Akiyoshi, Gastroenterological Center, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
Author contributions: Akiyoshi T analyzed the literature and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Takashi Akiyoshi, MD, PhD, Gastroenterological Center, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, 3-8-31 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan. takashi.akiyoshi@jfcr.or.jp
Telephone: +81-3-35200111 Fax: +81-3-35200141
Received: May 18, 2015
Peer-review started: May 20, 2015
First decision: August 26, 2015
Revised: September 18, 2015
Accepted: November 9, 2015
Article in press: November 9, 2015
Published online: January 14, 2016
Core Tip

Core tip: Relatively little is known about the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic extended surgery beyond total mesorectal excision for primary or locally recurrent rectal cancer. However, some experienced surgeons have reported the usefulness of laparoscopic surgery for such challenging cases. This review summarizes current knowledge on laparoscopic extended surgery beyond total mesorectal excision.