Over the last few years, endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD) has shown to be effective in the management ofearly colorectal neoplasms, particularly in Asian countrieswhere the technique was born. In the Western world, itsimplementation has been slow and laborious. In this paper,the indications for ESD, its learning model, the availablemethods to predict the presence of deep submucosalinvasion before the procedure and the published outcomesfrom Asia and Europe will be reviewed. Since ESD hasseveral limitations in terms of learning achievement inthe West, and completion of the procedure for the firstcases is difficult in our part of the world, a short review oncolorectal assisted ESD has been included. Finally, otherendoscopic and surgical treatment modalities that are incompetition with colorectal ESD will be summarized.