Ultimate Stomaless Technique of Two-Stage Operation for Lower Rectal Cancer Performed on a Patient with a High Body Mass Index: The Reborn Operation (Novel Pull-Through Method)

A 58-year-old Japanese man, with a body mass index of 41.7 kg/m2 (height: 179.8 cm; weight: 133.8 kg), underwent a laparoscopic pull-through procedure with delayed coloanal anastomosis performed in two surgical stages for lower rectal cancer. This method was selected because the volume of the abdominal wall was fairly thick and it would have been impossible to perform diverting ileostomy and colostomy, which are routinely conducted. First, a colonic pull-through segment of about 10 cm was left outside the anal canal without any tension and was fixed by sutures under indocyanine green fluorescence imaging (ICG FI). The second surgical stage was performed 10 days after the first operation under general anesthesia. Final coloanal anastomosis was performed with near-infrared light without diverting the stoma under ICG FI. The patient demonstrated a good postoperative course and was discharged from our hospital in remission 15 days after the latest operation. We could inspect the coloanal flow of the anastomosis under ICG FI before the reconstruction. This procedure was considered to be a standard method, but it was overtaken by new technology, ICG FI. This procedure is an ultimate stomaless surgery for ultralow rectal cancer that can be performed in selected cases, such as in patients with a high body mass index and with hope for stomaless operation.