What is the difference between laparoscopic surgery and traditional surgery for rectal cancer

Since 1995, laparoscopic surgery has gradually been applied to the treatment of malignant tumors, including endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and intestinal cancer. Laparoscopic surgery was first used to treat intestinal cancer in 1991. With the gradual improvement of technology, laparoscopic treatment of intestinal cancer has gradually matured.

So, what is the difference between laparoscopic surgery and traditional surgery for rectal cancer?

If a patient is diagnosed with rectal cancer, the traditional treatment method requires a 20cm~25cm incision in the abdomen, followed by intestinal resection, removal of the intestinal segment, tumor, and lymphatic drainage, and then reconnecting the intestine. Traditional surgery involves a large incision, which causes relatively large trauma to the patient, and a relatively slow recovery after surgery.

Compared with traditional surgery, laparoscopic surgery has the same scope of intestinal resection and lymphatic drainage. The difference is that laparoscopic surgery does not require a large incision, but only 4 to 5 small holes (about 0.5cm to 1.0cm in diameter). The operation is performed under television monitoring. The intestinal segment and some surrounding supporting and involved tissues are separated using an electric knife or an ultrasonic knife. After full separation, according to the principle of radical cure, the root of the tumor supplying blood vessels is cut off using a laparoscopic cutting stapler, that is, rectal cancer should also cut off the distal intestinal tube of the tumor. The entire intestinal segment and tumor are removed through an appendix-sized incision on the abdominal wall (about 6cm long), and then the resection is performed outside the body, and the intestinal segment is anastomosed using a very advanced automatic stapler.