Laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer: 5 years' experience

The purpose of this study was to clarify the safety and value of laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer. This retrospective study involved 101 patients with gastric cancer treated with laparoscopic surgery at the Nippon Medical School Hospital from February 2001 through July 2005. The following variables were evaluated: age, sex, comorbid conditions, tumor size, location, gross type, histological type, depth of wall invasion, and presence or absence of lymph node metastasis. The surgical variables investigated included operating time, blood loss, postoperative complications, and length of postoperative stay. Mean tumor diameter was 24.1 +/- 18.4 mm, and most tumors were located in the lower third of the stomach. Endoscopic examination revealed that 98 of the tumors were early gastric cancers. The mean operation time was 255 +/- 74 min, and mean blood loss was 128 +/- 162 g. Local gastrectomy without lymphadenectomy was performed in 13 cases, and pylorus-preserving gastrectomy with perigastric lymphadenectomy was performed in 16 cases. Distal gastrectomy with systemic lymphadenectomy was performed in 56 cases. Proximal or total gastrectomy with lymph node dissection for tumors located in the upper half of the stomach was performed in 16 cases. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 13.3 +/- 7.6 days. No patients died during the admission. Postoperative surgical complications occurred in 10 patients (10%) and consisted of anastomotic bleeding in 3 patients, pneumohypoderma in 1 patient, and remote infection in 6 patients. The only medical complication was a stroke in 1 patient. We conclude that laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy is a safe and useful operation for most early gastric cancers. If patients are selected properly, laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy can be a curative and minimally invasive treatment for gastric cancer.