Laparoscopic right extended hemicolectomy – complete mesocolic excision – a video vignette

The concept of Complete Mesocolic Excision (CME) was introduced by Hohenberger et al to standardize colonic resection within an intact mesocolic envelop (1). The three main components are - 1) maintaining an intact mesocolic envelop 2) central vascular ligation with exposure of the left border of the Superior Mesenteric Vein (SMV) to remove all draining lymph nodes at the root of the vascular pedicles and 3) resection of 10 cms of bowel on either side to remove all the pericolic lymph nodes. Recent systematic reviews have shown that specimens resected with CME have superior pathological outcomes along with survival benefits, especially for Stage III disease (2). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.