Surgical treatment of rectal cancer

Abstract

Rectal cancer operation is commonest in clinic, especially in colorectal surgery. Usually, the radical resection of rectal cancer includes abdominoperineal resection (APR); Chinese surgeons often use Miles operation, low anterior resection (LAR), and Hartmann’s operation. So far, the minimally invasive surgery under laparoscope for middle or lower rectal cancer and the transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) for early rectal cancer have developed rapidly. However, due to the limitation of devices or technical condition, they cannot be popularized in a short time. The anatomical background and the steps of transabdominal APR, LAR, and Hartmann’s operations are introduced in this chapter.