Abstract
Postgastrectomy syndrome, a clinical problem, often occurs after gastrectomy and disturbs a patient's daily life. A patient strongly wishes not only “recovering from the cancer” but also “being able to lead a daily life similar to the one before the surgery”. However, concerning the latter, sufficient efforts have not been made in reality. Most surgeons are devoted to “treating the cancer” by performing operations or chemotherapy ; thus, they do not have adequate time to respond to the postgastrectomy syndrome. Therefore, developing tools that can efficiently diagnose and cope with the problems of postgastrectomy disturbances is required, as well as establishing a medical transdisciplinary team in cooperation with the medical staff. Postgastrectomy syndrome has sometimes been difficult to precisely diagnose and treat as it presents various clinical features, and treatment has mostly been given based on the individual experiences of the surgeons. However, in future, it is essential to provide a means by which postgastrectomy syndrome can be systematically diagnosed and treated. The treatment can be divided into (1) prevention, (2) detection - evaluation - response, and (3) examination - diagnosis - treatment. The improvement of initial response is suggested to be particularly linked with the potential for a patient to lead a daily life similar to the one before the surgery and to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life.
