Long-Term Bowel Function after Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS).

Area of Science:

• Colorectal Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is a single-port platform for rectal lesion excision.
• It offers an alternative to radical rectal resection, which can cause low anterior resection syndrome (LARS).
• Long-term functional outcomes after TAMIS, assessed by LARS score, were previously unevaluated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term bowel function in patients who underwent TAMIS.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case series of patients who underwent TAMIS between 2011 and 2017.
• Bowel function was assessed using the validated Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) score via telephone interviews.
• Data from 23 patients with a median follow-up of 5 years were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Most patients (73.91%) reported no definitive LARS.
• A minority experienced minor (17.39%) or major (8.69%) LARS.
• The study included patients with a mean age of 67 years, with 72% being male and 26% having malignant lesions.

Conclusions:

• TAMIS demonstrates favorable long-term functional outcomes regarding bowel function.
• The procedure appears to be a safe and effective option for rectal lesion excision.
• Further randomized controlled trials with larger patient cohorts are recommended to solidify these findings.