Multicenter Study on Postoperative Urinary and Sexual Function During Laparoscopic Functional Total Mesorectum Excision

Nerve plane was defined as the overlying tiny membranous tissue including the nerves, the adipose tissue and the extremely tiny capillaries around the nerve. Following the TME principles, the surgical procedure of FTME was guided by the nerve plane and dissected between the proper fascia of the rectum and nerve plane (the first gap), which could ensure completeness of the nerve plane and the proper fascia of the rectum.