Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) for minimally invasive resection of rectal adenomas and "low-risk" carcinomas (uT1, G1-2)

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) presents a minimally invasive procedure for local removal of large rectal adenomas ( ! 2 cm) and early, so called "low-risk" carcinomas (uT1, G1 - 2) in curative as well as of advanced tumors in palliative intent. Over a 6-year period 92 TEM excisions of rectal tumors were carried out including 91 patients with 56 adenomas, 35 carcinomas (9 pTis, 17 pT1, 5 pT2, 3 pT3, 1 Ca after snare diathermy) and one neurinoma. Two patients of the carcinoma group had to be reoperated by means of anterior resection due to false preoperative rectal ultrasound examination (2 x uT1 --> pT2). 4 patients required palliative therapy on account of age or high morbidity. After a mean follow-up time of 23 months (adenomas 23 months, pT1 carcinoma 26 months and advanced tumors 38 months) we encountered a total of 7 complications, of which in 5 cases surgical reintervention was necessary (5,4%). One 86-year-old patient with a pT2-carcinoma, who was unsuitable for low anterior resection due to a high morbidity risk, died from myocardial infarction after emergency reintervention caused by postoperative bleeding. To date, overall 9 recurrences occurred (9,8 %). In the specific target group of TEM (adenomas and pT1, G1-2 carcinomas) consisting of n = 83 cases, the overall recurrence rate was 7,2 %, of which 5,3 % were due to adenomas and 115 % due to carcinomas. After palliative excision 2 recurrences occurred. These results of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) indicate that this technique has a useful place in curative, as well as in palliative management of rectal tumors.