Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is a new, minimally invasive approach to rectal surgery that is performed through one of the body’s natural orifices — the anus. It can be used for the removal of rectal tumors but also for other indications, including treatment of benign rectal strictures. In this video, Gabriel R. Chedister, M.D., a resident at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), narrates endoscopic footage from a recent case at MUSC Health in which TAMIS was used to remove a benign rectal stricture that had necessitated a colostomy. The procedure was performed by Virgilio V. George, M.D., Section Head of Colorectal Surgery at MUSC Health, with the assistance of MUSC Health colorectal surgeon Pinckney J. Maxwell, M.D., and Chedister. The stricture had not been caused by radiation or intestinal bowel disease. Several months after TAMIS, the colostomy was successfully reversed.
Associate Professor, Head of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery