Feasibility and Advantages of Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS) for Various Lesions in the Rectum

PURPOSE: We report our experience in the use of transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) and the feasibility and safety of this surgical technique in operating for various rectal diseases that require a transanal approach. METHODS: Between 2013 and 2019, 30 patients underwent TAMIS for a rectal lesion at Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center. The clinical data including age, gender, body mass index, tumour size, distance from the anal verge, diagnosis, operation time, postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and post-operative margin status were obtained retrospectively from the electronic medical records. RESULTS: The mean operation time was 52.1±33.5 and the mean duration of hospital stay after surgery was 4.3±4.2 days. Most of the patients had undergone TAMIS for neuroendocrine tumor (NET) (60%) followed by an adenoma (16.7%) and rectal cancer (13.3%). 4 patients (13.3%) had minor complications after TAMIS. 2 patients (50%) had complained of diarrhea, 1 patient (25%) complained of fecal incontinence and 1 patient (25%) been diagnosed fluid in the operation bed. CONCLUSION: TAMIS is a useful method for local excision of rectal lesion located in mid to upper rectum as well as other rectal pathologies that require a transanal approach.