Transanal minimally invasive surgery: how can it help us?

Abstract

Transanal surgery has evolved significantly in the past few decades. With the technological advancements of endoscopic systems, minimally invasive approaches in transanal surgeries are quickly increasing in popularity. Transanal endoscopic microsurgery was developed initially with subsequent transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) being introduced as an alternative in 2009. Over the past decade, more and more papers have been published on TAMIS, regarding the management of benign/malignant rectal lesions as well as repair of anastomotic leaks, anastomotic strictures, rectovaginal/rectourethral fistula, etc. This review details the progress of transanal surgery and the use of TAMIS in different scenarios.