Specimen ultrasound. A possible way of quality control of the TME

Aims: The circumferential resection margin has a vital importance in determining the success of total mesorectal excision. There has been a debate, wheather the pathologist measures the real distance between the tumour and the margin, or it has been shrank by the formaline. Using the endo-rectal ultrasound we tried to measure the clearance between the tumour an the resection margin in the operating theatre. Material and methods: We used rectal specimens, that had just been removed during rectal resections. After a thorough washout we immersed them in a saline bath and used the B and K Leopard ultrasound machine…