Regular food is started the next day. Activities can usually be resumed the next day. The patient then sees the surgeon 10 to 14 days after surgery for a postoperative review. At that time further plans are discussed. The greatest benefit of TEM is that a patient can avoid open surgery and experience less pain and time recovering from surgery.
Patients can often return to normal activity sooner and experience little to no pain after surgery.
Another benefit of TEM is that the need for a colostomy is rare and unlikely. Other risks associated with an abdominal incision are avoided, such as wound infection, and pulmonary infection. If during the course of the operation the surgeon needs to make a traditional incision to safely complete the operation, this should not be seen as a failure but as a wise decision to prevent dangerous complications. Bleeding and infection are risks associated with any surgical procedure. These complications may necessitate a colostomy being performed to prevent or treat infections.