The efficacy and safety of LECS for gastric submucosal tumors and the new clinical application of LECS for early gastric cancer

Abstract

Laparoscopy and endoscopy cooperative surgery (LECS) allows for easy access any tumor and is effective for treating of gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs) . We experienced 36 patients (male, n＝17 ; female, n＝19) who underwent LECS for gastric SMT. The median operation time was 189 min and the median blood loss was 5 ml. Three patients had postoperative complications and no patients showed any signs of recurrence. Inverted LECS with sentinel node basin dissection was applied to 3 patients (male, n＝2 ; female, n＝1) with early gastric cancer. The median operation time was 280 min and the median blood loss was 70 ml. No patients had any postoperative complications or signs of recurrence. Although further work is still required, LECS is considered to be safe and useful for the treatment of early gastric cancer and other epithelial malignancies.