Bill Heald

Bill Heald developed total mesorectal excision (TME) — the surgical technique of sharply dissecting along embryological fascial planes to completely remove the mesorectum with the rectum in rectal cancer surgery. TME dramatically reduced local recurrence rates in rectal cancer from 30-40% with conventional blunt dissection to <5-10% with TME, representing one of the most important surgical technique advances in colorectal oncology.