Laparoscope–assisted Gastrectomy for Early Gastric Cancer: Analysis of 18 Initial Cases

Abstract

BACKGROUND:We have used laparoscope–assisted gastrectomy (LAG) to treat early gastric cancer since 2006. We compared LAG and conventional open gastrectomy (OG) outcomes retrospectively to evaluate its procedural feasibility. PATIENTS and METHODS We conducted LAG in 18 persons with early–stage middle or lower gastric cancer between March 2006 and August 2008. LAG includes pylorus–preserving gastrectomy (PPG), segmental gastrectomy (SEG), and distal gastrectomy (DG). RESULTS The operating time of LAG was 80 minutes longer than OG, and the blood loss of LAG was 200 ml less than OG. First flatus and recovery to normal temperature occurred faster in the LAG group. Oral intake restart and postoperative hospital stay did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSIONS We introduced LAG to treat early gastric cancer without obvious disadvantage in our initial 18 cases, suggesting that LAG may be a preferable surgical alternative.