[Factors influencing anastomotic leakage after total gastrectomy with special reference to ABO blood groups (author's...

One of the hazardous problems of total gastrectomy is anastomotic leakage. A retrospective study was carried out to evaluate the factors which may have an impact on anastomotic leakage. 188 patients who underwent total gastrectomy at the Surgical Department in the Klinikum Steglitz of the Free University of West-Berlin and the Marien-Hospital in Osnabrueck from 1963 to 1979 were investigated. Age, sex preoperative haemoglobin and total protein as well as the dignity of the underlying disease have been found to have no influence on the rate of anastomotic leakage. However, patients with blood group A have a significantly (p less than 0.05) lower leakage rate than patients with blood group 0, and patients with scirrhous carcinoma have also a significantly lower leakage rate than those with adenocarcinoma and solid carcinoma. Possible relationship among ABO blood groups and different kinds of disease are discussed.