Complete Mesocolic Excision With Central Vascular Ligation Produces an Oncologically Superior Specimen Compared With Standard Surgery for Carcinoma of the Colon

Surgeons in Erlangen routinely practicing CME and CVL surgery remove more mesocolon and are more likely to resect in the mesocolic plane when compared with standard excisions. This, along with the associated greater lymph node yield, may partially explain the high 5-year survival rates reported in Erlangen.