In , laparoscopic colorectal surgery was introduced in the field of gastrointestinal surgery as the role of minimally invasive surgery continued to expand to treat abdominal conditions 1 , 2. Soon after, major centers such as the Mayo Clinic started reporting their early experience with large series of patients 3.
Much debate ensued questioning the safety and adequacy of laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of cancer and concerns were raised around the globe by skeptics regarding the emerging minimally invasive approach.
Such concerns were eventually laid to rest after major randomized clinical trials such as the COST trial demonstrated the favorable oncologic outcome for patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery 4 - 8. Recognizing the benefits of laparoscopic surgery, the early 21 st century saw the gradual global implementation of minimally invasive surgery. In addition to the short-term benefits which included faster recovery and shorter length of stay compared to traditional open surgery, the long-term advantages of laparoscopic surgery included a lower rate of intestinal adhesions formation, fewer bowel obstructions, and a decrease risk for incisional ventral hernia.
A large study from Kaiser Permanente in California looked at the outcome of 4, colorectal resections over a 3-year period and confirmed the positive long-term benefits of laparoscopy with a significant lower incidence of small bowel obstruction and incisional ventral hernia 9. Since its initial description by Schlinkert at the Mayo Clinic in , several approaches to laparoscopic right hemicolectomy have been reported 10 - These various techniques depict a variety of methods for colon mobilization, control of the mesocolic vasculature, anastomosis construction, and specimen extraction sites.
Previously the senior author of this publication has described the extracorporeal anastomotic technique for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy In this technical paper, we would like to demonstrate the intracorporeal anastomosis approach for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for cancer.
