Utility of a lighted stent to avoid male urethral injury in transanal rectal surgery

Abstract

Total mesorectal excision (TME) is accepted as the standard technique in rectal surgery. In recent years, significant attention has been focused on transanal TME (taTME) as a promising approach for rectal cancer. However, this approach can involve an inherent risk of male urethral injury, because there is no clear anatomical border between the rectal muscularis propria and rectourethral muscle. We used a lighted urethral stent to identify the urethra during taTME for 6 patients with distal rectal cancer. In five of six cases, an infrared-detecting camera could detect a red fluorescent signal from the lighted urethral stent during the anterior dissection of the rectum, which helped us to determine the correct dissection line. A lighted urethral stent is a useful tool that helps visualize the urethra during taTME and improves taTME applicability in clinical practice.

Keywords

Transanal total mesorectal excision / lighted urethral stent / urethral injury

References

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