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Background: The incidence of benign anastomotic stenosis (BAS) after radical surgery for rectal cancer ranges from 2 to 30%. There are few data regarding the factors related to its occurrence. One of these factors is the diameter of the circular mechanical staplers (CMS) used., Methods: Observational study with prospective data recording of consecutive patients with non-disseminated rectal cancer operated on at two hospitals with special dedication to rectal cancer. Patients underwent low anterior resection (LAR) of the rectum with colorectal anastomosis created using CMS of diameters of either 28-29 or 31-33 mm. The primary endpoint was BAS. Secondary variables were demographic and patient-dependent data, and preoperative, intraoperative, immediate postoperative and mid-term data. The incidence of BAS was compared in the groups in which the different stapler diameters were used., Results: Between 2012 and 2022, 239 patients were included. BAS was recorded in 39 (16.3%). In the analysis of factors related to its occurrence, the only significant variable was stapler diameter (p = 0.002, 95% CI 7.27-23.53), since rates of BAS were lower in the 31-33 mm group. Similarly, in the logistic regression analysis, stapler size was not associated with postoperative complications or anastomotic dehiscence (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.2-10.5). Comparing stapler groups, BAS was detected in 35 of 165 patients (21%) in the 28-29 mm group but in only four out of 74 (5.6%) in the 31-33 mm group (p = 0.002, 95% CI 7.27-23.53). Ileostomy closure took longer and was less frequent in the 28-29 mm group., Conclusions: The rate of BAS after LAR was not negligible, since it was recorded in 39 of 239 patients (16.3%). The use of a 31-33 mm CMS was associated with a lower incidence of BAS. Therefore, the use of larger staplers is tentatively recommended; however, clinical trials are now required to confirm these results., Competing Interests: Declarations. Disclosures: Núria Llorach-Perucho, Ladislao Cayetano Paniagua, Pau Esteve-Monja, Albert Garcia-Nalda, Josep Bargalló and Xavier Serra-Aracil have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Suture dehiscence is one of the most feared postoperative complications. Correct intestinal vascularization is essential for its prevention. Indocyanine green (ICG) is one of the methods used to assess vascularization, but this assessment is usually subjective. Our group designed the SERGREEN program to obtain an objective measurement of the degree of vascularization. We do not know how long after ICG administration the fluorescence of the tissues should be evaluated, or how far away the measurement should be performed. The aim of this study is to establish the optimal moment and distance for analyzing the fluorescence saturation of ICG., Methods: Prospective observational study in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic colorectal surgery. The optimal time for ICG analysis was tested in a sample of 20 patients (10 right colon and 10 left colon), and the optimal distance in a sample of ten patients. ICG was administered intravenously, and colon vascularization was quantified using SERGREEN; RGB (Red, Green, Blue) encoding was used. The intensity curve of the ICG was analyzed for ten minutes after its administration. Distances of 1, 3, and 5 cm were tested., Results: The intensity of fluorescence increased until 1.5 min after ICG administration (reaching figures of 112.49 in the right colon and 93.95 in the left). It then remained fairly stable until 3.5 min (98.49 in the right and 83.35 in the left), at which point it began to decrease gradually. ICG saturation was inversely proportional to the distance between the camera and the tissue. The best distance was 5 cm, where the confidence interval was narrower [CI 86.66-87.53]., Conclusion: The optimal time for determining ICG in the colon is between 1.5 and 3.5 min, in both right and left colon. The optimal distance is 5 cm. This information will help to establish parameters of comparison in normal and pathological situations., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Since the introduction of screening for colorectal cancer, the use of transanal endoscopic surgery (TEM) has become increasingly popular. However, the technical difficulty of this surgery varies widely. The few studies of learning curve in TEM have produced very disparate results. The aim of this study is to distinguish between straightforward and complex procedures, in order to refer more difficult cases to centers with greater experience., Method: Observational study with prospective data collection and retrospective analysis was carried out between June 2004 and January 2019. All TEMs performed on rectal tumors were included. The complexity of the procedure was defined according to the weighted mean surgical time for each surgeon. A predictive model of complexity was established, with a score higher than 5 indicating a complex lesion., Results: During the study period, 773 TEMs were performed, 708 of which met the study's inclusion criteria. One hundred and three tumors were defined as complex. Predictors of complexity were as follows: male sex (OR: 1.78, 95% CI 1.1-2.9, score: 1), tumor size > 5 cm (OR: 5.1, 95% CI 3.2-8.2, score: 4), TEM for recurrence (OR: 6.3, 95% CI 2.3-16.7, score: 5), and distance from the upper margin of the tumor to the anal verge > 15 cm (OR: 1.6, 95% CI 0.96-2.7, score: 1)., Conclusions: Rather than establishing the learning curve merely in terms of the number of TEM procedures performed, it is important to consider the surgical difficulty of the interventions. To this end, it is essential to differentiate simple TEMs from the complex ones.

Background: Perforation in the peritoneal cavity during transanal endoscopic microsurgery represents a major challenge. It is usually treated by primary suture, though some authors propose laparoscopic repair with or without ostomy. It is unclear whether perforation increases the risk of tumor dissemination., Aim: The purpose of the study is to assess the safety of primary suture of peritoneal perforation and the long-term risk of dissemination, also, to determine risk factors for perforation and to propose a predictive model for lesions with risk of perforation., Method: This is an observational study with prospective data collection at Parc Taulí University Hospital, Sabadell, of patients undergoing transanal surgery with perforation into the peritoneal cavity from June 2004 to September 2017. The main variable is postoperative morbidity and mortality. The long-term follow-up of local recurrence and peritoneal tumor dissemination is described, and a quantitative predictive model for peritoneal cavity perforation is proposed., Results: Forty-five patients out of 686 (6.6%) presented perforation into the peritoneal cavity. Ten patients (22.2%) in the perforation group had morbidity, a rate similar to the non-perforated group. There was no peritoneal dissemination in patients with adenoma or with carcinoma treated with curative intent. In the quantitative predictive model, risk factors for perforation were proximal edge of tumor > 14 cm from anal verge (6 points), size ≥ 6 cm (2), age ≥ 85 years (4), anterior quadrant (3) , and sex (2). Total scores of ≥ 6 points predicted perforation., Conclusions: Primary suture after peritoneal cavity perforation during transanal surgery is safe and does not increase the risk of recurrence or peritoneal dissemination. Our predictive model provides guidance regarding the risk of perforation and the need to suture the defect after transanal surgery resection.

Background: Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) is a minimally invasive procedure with low morbidity. The definition of risk factors for postoperative complications would help to identify the patients likely to require more care and surveillance in an ambulatory or 1-day surgery (A-OdS) program. The main endpoints are overall 30-day morbidity and relevant morbidity. The secondary objectives are to detect risk factors for complications, rehospitalization, and the time of occurrence of the postoperative complications, and to describe the adverse effects following hospitalization that the A-OdS program would avoid., Methods: This is an observational study of consecutive patients undergoing TEM between June 2004 and December 2016. Overall and relevant morbidity based on the Clavien-Dindo (Cl-D) classification were recorded, as were demographic, preoperative, surgical, and pathology variables. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors were carried out., Results: Six hundred and ninety patients underwent surgery, of whom 639 were included in the study. Overall morbidity rate was 151/639 patients (23.6%); the clinically relevant morbidity rate was 36/639 (Cl-D > II) (5.6%) and mortality 2/639 (0.3%). The most frequent complication was rectal bleeding, recorded in 16.9% (108/639 patients) and grade I in 86/108 patients (78. 9%). The period with the greatest risk of complications was the first 2 days. The rehospitalization rate after 48 h was 7%. The risk factors for complications were as follows: tumor size > 6 cm (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.3-7.8), anti-platelet medication (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-5.1), and surgeon's experience < 150 procedures (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1-4.1)., Conclusions: TEM is a safe procedure. The low rates of morbidity, re-hospitalization, and postoperative complications in the first 2 days after surgery make the procedure suitable for A-OdS.

Background: Although the incidence of colorectal cancer increases with the patient's age, the elderly continue to be less likely to be scheduled for surgery. Transanal endoscopic micro-surgery (TEM) is a surgical alternative to total mesorectal excision (TME) in early stage rectal cancer and/or in selected patients that could decrease morbidity and mortality rates in this group of patients. Our main objective is to assess the safety and feasibility of TEM in elderly (75-84 years) and very elderly (≥ 85 years) patients., Methods: Observational study was conducted with prospective data collection of all consecutive patients who underwent TEM between April 2004 and January 2017. Patients were assigned to groups according to age. Descriptive and comparative analyses between groups were performed., Results: We analyzed 693 patients, 429 patients < 75 years (61.9%), 220 patients between the ages of 75 and 84 (31.7%), and 44 patients ≥ 85 years old (6.3%). The tendency in our series is to increase comorbidities with age. Palliative or consensus intent was more frequently performed in elderly (10.5%, 34/220), and very elderly (45.4%, 20/44), compared with the youngest (6.3%, 27/429), (p < 0.001). Global morbidity presented an increasing trend related to age from 20.3% in < 75 years, to 25.9% in elderly and 34.1% in very elderly. Surgical complications were recorded in 18.5% (128/693) of patients with no significant differences between groups. The most common one was rectal bleeding 16.1% (111/693). Significant differences were found in non-surgical complications, recorded in 7.3% (16/220) in the elderly, and 15.9% (7/44) in the group above 84 years (p = 0.013)., Conclusions: TEM presents acceptable morbidity rates mainly due to non-surgical-related adverse effects in elderly and very elderly patients and may be a feasible and safe alternative in this population in both curative and non-curative indications.

Endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) is considered the technique of choice for selecting patients for transanal endoscopic surgery (TEM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of ERUS in patients with rectal tumors who later underwent TEM, and to analyze the factors that influence this accuracy. Observational study including prospective data collection of patients with rectal tumors undergoing TEM with curative intent between June 2004 and May 2016. Preoperative staging by EUS (uT) was correlated with the pathology results after TEM (pT). The accuracy of the EUS was evaluated and a series of variables (tumor morphology, height, lesion size, quadrant, definitive pathology, the surgeon assessing the ERUS, and waiting time from the date of the ERUS until surgery) were analyzed as possible predictors of diagnostic accuracy. Six hundred and fifty-one patients underwent TEM, of whom 495 met the inclusion criteria. The overall accuracy of EUS was 78%, sensitivity 83.78%, specificity 20%, PPV 91.3%, and NPV 11%. Forty patients (8.08%) were understaged and 50 (10.9%) were overstaged. In the multivariate analysis, the surgeon's experience emerged as the most important predictor of accuracy (p < 0.001; OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.681-4.512). The EUS was less accurate with larger lesions (p = 0.004; OR 0.219, 95% CI 0.137-0.349) and when the definitive diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (p < 0.001; OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.746-0.946). ERUS accuracy rates are variable and there is a possibility of understaging and overstaging that must be taken into consideration. This accuracy is dependent on the operator's experience as well on lesion size; in addition, it is lower for lesions shown to be cancers in the final pathology report.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery for rectal TME achieves better patient recovery, lower morbidity, and shorter hospital stay than open surgery. However, in laparoscopic rectal surgery, the overall conversion rate is nearly 20%. Transanal TME combined with laparoscopy, known as Hybrid NOTES, is a less invasive procedure that provides adequate solutions to some of the limitations of rectal laparoscopy. Transanal TME via TEO with technical variants (intracorporeal resection and anastomosis, TEO review of the anastomosis) attempts to standardize and simplify the procedure., Method: Prospective observational study was used describe and assess the technique in terms of conversion to open surgery, overall morbidity, surgical site infection and hospital stay. The sample comprised consecutive patients diagnosed with rectal tumor less than 10 cm from the anal verge who were candidates for low anterior resection using TME (except T4). Demographic, surgical, postoperative, and pathological variables were analyzed, as well as morbidity rates., Results: From September 2012 to August 2014, 32 patients were included. The conversion rate was 0%. Overall morbidity was 31.3%, SSI rate was 9.4%, and mean hospital stay was 8 days. Oncological radical criteria were achieved with pathological parameters of 94% of complete TME and a median circumferential margin of 13 mm., Conclusion: The introduction of technical variants of TEO for transanal resection can facilitate a procedure that requires extensive experience in transanal and laparoscopic surgery. Studies of sphincter function, quality of life, and long-term oncological outcome are now necessary.