Table 2

Opinions on transanal total mesorectal excision of survey respondents who currently operate on patients with rectal cancer

Opinion categoryTaTME surgeons*Non-TaTME surgeons†p value
Respondents who endorsed the statement “I strongly agree that advanced laparoscopic skills are required for TaTME,” %90%64%< 0.05
Volume of rectal cancer cases that respondents believed is required annually for proficiency in TaTME, median no. of cases (IQR)20 (15–25)15 (10–20)
Volume of TaTME cases that respondents believed is required annually for proficiency in TaTME, median no. of cases (IQR)12 (10–19)9 (5–10)

  • IQR = interquartile range; TaTME = transanal total mesorectal excision.

  • ↵* Surgeons who were performing TaTME at the time of the survey.

  • ↵† Surgeons who were not performing TaTME at the time of the survey.