Elsevier

Surgery

Volume 146, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 469-474
Surgery

Original Communication
Laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy for gastric cancer: A multicenter retrospective analysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2009.03.023Get rights and content

Background

Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) has been applied to the treatment of gastric cancer, and there are now several publications regarding its safety and feasibility. In contrast, there have been few reports on laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG), because this procedure is performed less frequently and is technically more difficult to perform than LADG. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate short-term outcomes in a multicenter study of LATG, as well as its safety and feasibility.

Methods

A retrospective multicenter study was carried out in Korea involving 1,485 patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for gastric cancer at 10 institutions between April 1998 and December 2005. Of these patients, 131 underwent LATG. We evaluated and analyzed the short-term outcomes and the clinicopathologic characteristics of the 131 patients.

Results

The mean (± SD) operation time was 270 ± 79 min; 1 patient required conversion to an open procedure. The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes was 34.7. The mean duration of hospital stay was 11.3 days, and first intake of soft diet was at 5.8 days. The rate of postoperative morbidity was 19% (25/131 patients); there was no mortality. The most common postoperative morbidity was wound complications at the mini-laparotomy site, and there were 3 cases of anastomotic leakage. Six patients (5%) had recurrence of cancer, and 9 patients (7%) died during the follow-up period.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that LATG is a safe and feasible procedure for gastric cancer patients. A prospective, multicenter, randomized trial of LATG is needed to confirm the efficacy of this procedure.

Section snippets

Methods

In January 2006, a prospective, multicenter, randomized clinical trial comparing open versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for early-stage gastric cancer began in Korea. This randomized trial is being conducted at 10 hospitals, where 10 surgeons each have performed more than 50 open and laparoscopic gastrectomies for gastric cancer and perform more than 80 gastrectomies annually. Before starting the trial, we collected retrospectively data on all laparoscopic gastrectomies for gastric cancer

Clinical characteristics of patients (Table I)

The mean age of the patients was 57 years (range, 24–82), and the ratio of males to females was 1.3:1 (74 males, 57 females). The mean BMI was 23.0 kg/m2 (range, 16–30), and there was no difference in BMI between males and females (P = .651). Fifty (38.2%) of the 131 patients had comorbidities, the most common being hypertension. Eleven (8.4%) patients had a previous operative history; 2 patients had undergone upper gastrointestinal tract surgery, 3 patients had undergone lower gastrointestinal

Discussion

Gastric cancer remains one of the most common neoplasms in Asia and some Western countries, although the incidence is decreasing worldwide. In recent years, the earlier detection of gastric cancer has meant more patients with early gastric cancer and an increase in the awareness of minimally invasive approaches for treatment.

Laparoscopic surgery is considered the criterion standard for the treatment of several benign diseases and some malignant diseases, such as colon cancer.4 Since the first

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