Putting down the scalpel in rectal cancer management - a historical perspective.

The surgical management of rectal cancer has evolved from a disease without any possibility of cure in the early 1700s where surgical management consisted of the palliative drainage of disease related abscesses to the present day where surgical cure is not only possible but also possible with sphincter or even organ preservation. Prof Habr-Gama's lecture describes the evolution of the surgical management of rectal cancer and the current focus on organ preservation.