Abstract
Surgical treatment is more difficult for remnant gastric cancer than for primary gastric cancer because of adhesions to adjacent organs. Severe adhesions between the remnant stomach and the left lobe of the liver make difficult to remove the remnant stomach. Laparoscopic gastrectomy has gradually gained acceptance for the treatment of primary gastric cancer because of the potential benefits of being less invasive and having a shorter recovery time but has generally been considered contraindicated in patients who have undergone open upper abdominal surgery. However, few reports have described laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy after open or laparoscopic gastrectomy. The benefits and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for remnant gastric cancer remain unclear. We describe in detail the procedure of laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer and evaluate its safety and feasibility.
