Oversleeve anastomosis in laparoscopic sphincter-preserving surgery for low rectal cancer: an overlapped end-to-end anastomosis technique without prophylactic stoma

With recent advances in laparoscopic-surgery techniques and neoadjuvant therapy options, there have been improvements in sphincter-preservation outcomes in patients with low rectal cancer [1–3]. However, several issues remain controversial, such as the incidence of anastomotic leakage, the local recurrence rate, and anal-function outcome [4–5]. Moreover, prophylactic stoma at the end of sphincter-preserving surgery is necessary to prevent anastomotic leakage, especially in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy [7]. To avoid prophylactic colostomy and decrease excessive expense, we developed a new method of overlapped end-to-end anastomosis for treating low rectal cancer—a technique referred to as ‘oversleeve anastomosis.’