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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
Laparoscopic Radical Gastrectomy for Remnant Gastric Cancer
Published on: October 31, 2025
Risk factors for operative complications in elderly patients during laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy
Sun-Hwi Hwang1, Do Joong Park, Ye Seob Jee
1Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi, Korea.
Background:
We evaluated the feasibility of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy in elderly patients with gastric cancer.
Study Design:
We performed a retrospective analysis of 632 patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy from May 2003 to December 2007 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Postoperative complication rates were compared between patients older and younger than 70 years of age.
Results:
Of the 632 patients, 515 (81.5%) were younger than 70 years and 117 (18.5%) were aged 70 years or older. Significant differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension were observed in patients older than 70 years (p < 0.05). Although the overall complication rates of the patients younger and older than 70 years were 12.6% and 17.9%, respectively, there was no statistically significant difference between groups (p=0.12). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that comorbidities with hypertension or with liver cirrhosis were the only variables that correlated independently with postoperative complications.
Conclusions:
Complications after laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for patients older than 70 years of age with gastric cancer were similar to those of younger patients. But a careful approach is required when patients older than 70 years of age have hypertension or liver cirrhosis.
