[The use of laparoscopy in the staging of stomach cancer]

Laparotomy is still being resorted to on a large scale to diagnose stomach cancer. This surgical intervention causes unjustified trauma and often exacerbates patient's condition. In a comparative study, postoperative complications were recorded in 13% of cases of laparotomy. The death rate was 2%. Patients were confined to hospital for an average of 15 days. Laparoscopy was performed in 105 patients for staging stomach cancer during clinical examinations. Metastases to abdominal cavity organs were detected in 61.9%. Laparoscopy did not involve complication or lethality. Patients stayed at the hospital not more than 5 days. A retrospective analysis of 193 cases of stomach cancer who had undergone diagnostic laparotomy showed that surgery could have been avoided in 42.5%, if laparoscopy had been used during clinical examination.