“…However, patients have to experience long operative time and are exposed to postoperative complications such as bleeding, suture dehiscence, temporary or definitive colostomy, sexual or urinary dysfunctions, pneumonia and thromboembolic events. In this context, TEM appeared as an attractive alternative, however precise preoperative staging is imperative since the procedure does not remove all perirectal lymph nodes (the risk of its involvement is 0%-12% for T1 cancers, 12%-28% for T2 cancers, 36%-79% for T3 cancers 25,32,35 ). Therefore, local recurrence is a major concern and careful patient selection is mandatory to optimize results.…”