Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery
What is TAMIS?
TAMIS ( Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery) is a surgical technique of using standard laparoscopic instruments to remove a polyp or superficial lesion through the anus, without making an incision.
During TAMIS, a specialized laparoscopic surgery port is placed into the anus. The laparoscope and needed instruments are passed through the port to the rectum, where the surgeon removes the polyp. Once the lesion is removed, the hole in the rectum is sutured closed.
TAMIS allows to remove polyps that are too large or too flat to be removed with a colonoscope or flexible sigmoidoscopy without removing the rectum.
What are the advantages
of TAMIS?
Rectal resection is associated with a number of adverse effects, including fecal incontinence, urinary issues, and sexual dysfunction, and requires several days in the hospital, making TAMIS an important option for patients who have benign rectal polyps and for a highly selected group of patients with early rectal cancer.
Are there any drawbacks of TAMIS?
The biggest drawback of TAMIS is that lymph nodes cannot be assessed for cancer spread, so the procedure is only used for patients with very early stage rectal cancer which is determined by pre-operative imaging
How long does one need to be
admitted after the procedure?
Patients who have TAMIS stay in the hospital overnight to be monitored for complications from making a perforation into the rectum during the procedure, though it is a rare occurrence.
Recovery is significantly better after TAMIS compared with traditional surgery, with shorter hospital stays and fewer complications.