Two-Year Follow-Up of the First Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision (TaTME) Case Performed in Community Hospital in Hawai'i: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Surgical management of rectal cancer has evolved with the advent of total mesorectal excision (TME) and neo-adjuvant treatment allowing for more sphincter-preserving proctectomies. The laparoscopic approach to TME has numerous advantages over the open approach, including faster recovery, fewer wound complications, and overall reduced morbidity. However, laparoscopic dissection around the distal portion of the rectum is particularly difficult, and thus makes achieving TME completeness and negative resection margins for low rectal tumors a challenge. Transanal TME (TaTME) is designed to overcome these difficulties. It is performed in addition to laparoscopic operation as a bottom-up approach facilitating dissection around the distal rectum. More importantly, TaTME has been shown to have the potential to improve oncological outcomes of minimally-invasive sphincter-preserving proctectomy by providing better TME specimen quality and resection margins. Although interest in TaTME has been growing worldwide, the technique is still relatively new, and adoption into routine practice may be challenging. Potential criteria for successful adoption of the TaTME technique include experience in laparoscopic rectal resection and transanal minimally-invasive surgery (TAMIS), cadaveric TaTME training, and a multidisciplinary approach to selection and management of patients with rectal cancer. Once these criteria are met, gradual and careful implementation of TaTME could be feasible. This report describes the 2-year follow-up of the first TaTME case in Hawai'i managed by a multidisciplinary oncological team in a community hospital setting.