Totally laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy with transanal specimen extraction

Background  

Conventional techniques for laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC) require abdominal minilaparotomy for extraction of the specimen. Abdominal wound complications often increase the invasiveness of LAC. To decrease the incidence of wound complications, natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) has been reported. However, only a few devices that allow smooth extraction and reduced intracorporeal contamination have been reported previously. We performed totally laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy using transanal specimen extraction (TASE) and the Alexis^? wound retractor (Applied Medical, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA). We document this simple and safe technique and its short-term results.