Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision (Ta-TME) in a Rectal Cancer Patient with a History of Abdominal Surgery: A Case Report

A 65-year-old man was followed up after undergoing Hartmann's operation for the treatment of obstructive colon cancer 1 year earlier. He presented with bloody stool and underwent examination, including lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, and he was diagnosed with rectal cancer. Since he had a history of multiple abdominal surgeries, including Hartmann's operation, severe pelvic adhesions were expected. Thus, in consideration of surgical safety and curability, transanal total mesorectal excision (Ta-TME) was performed. The duration of the surgery was 3 h, and there was minimal blood loss. Histopathological findings did not reveal remnants of cancer in the resected margin, and the patient was discharged on hospital day 7. Rectal cancer has a higher rate of local recurrence than colon cancer. To prevent local recurrence, ensuring a rectal circumferential resection margin (CRM) with TME is essential, which is, however, challenging in obese patients and in those with giant tumors, contracted pelvis, prostatic hypertrophy, etc., since these conditions complicate pelvic surgery. The same is true for patients with a history of multiple abdominal surgeries. It is expected that these problems can be resolved by Ta-TME. In the present case, Ta-TME was extremely useful in rectal cancer surgery for a patient with a history of multiple abdominal surgeries, including Hartmann's operation.