Laparoscopic-assisted radical left hemicolectomy for colon cancer

Laparoscopic surgery has been enthusiastically applied to the resection of colorectal cancer for more than many years. Nowadays, more and more colorectal surgeons believe that laparoscopic approach gains quicker functional recovery, achieves comparable (1-3), and even better oncologic results (4,5) for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. However, the safety of laparoscopic left hemi-colectomy for cancer remains to be established, owing to its exclusion from previous randomized controlled trials.