Colon resection: is standard technique adequate?

The traditional approach to surgical resection of colonic cancer involves removal of the primary tumor together with the associated lymphovascular pedicle. In an attempt to improve oncological outcomes, several groups have recently published data describing improved outcomes with a more radical surgical approach termed complete mesocolic excision (CME) with central vessel ligation (CVL). Here we critically appraise this new surgical advance and discuss other surgical options suggested to offer improvements over current best practice.