The advent of total mesorectal excision (TME) together with minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopic colorectal surgery have not only improved surgical results but have also improved surgical technique, operative ability and surgical visibility. Lap TME has been shown to give similar results to the classical open approach with regard to peri-operative morbidity, surgical margins, quality of the surgical specimen, and number of resected lymph nodes, local recurrence and overall survival.