The use of laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer.

The use of laparoscopic techniques in the treatment of rectal cancer was until recently regarded with skepticism, because it did not seem to fulfill the oncologic principles of open surgery. The first report of a rectal cancer case treated by using laparoscopy has been made approximately two decades ago. From that moment on, the laparoscopic technique, progressed thanks to the development of the optical devices that allowed the improvement of the laparoscopic image, as well as the progressive increase of experience of the surgical teams specialized in colorectal laparoscopic surgery.