Purpose: Completion total gastrectomy (CTG) for remnant gastric cancer (RGC) is a technically demanding procedure and associated with increased morbidity. The present study aimed to evaluate postoperative complications and their risk factors following surgery for RGC after initial partial gastrectomy due to gastric cancer excluding peptic ulcer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 107 patients who had previously undergone an initial gastric cancer surgery and subsequently underwent CTG for RGC between March 2002 and December 2020. The postoperative complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for complications. Results: Postoperative complications occurred in 34.6% (37/107) of the patients. Intraabdominal abscess was the most common complication. The significant risk factors for overall complications were multi-visceral resections, longer operation time, and high estimated blood loss in the univariate analysis. The independent risk factors were multivisceral resection (odds ratio [OR], 2.832; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.094–7.333;P=0.032) and longer operation time (OR, 1.005; 95% CI, 1.001–1.011; P=0.036) in the multivariate analysis. Previous reconstruction type, minimally invasive approach, and current stage were not associated with the overall complications. Conclusions Multi-visceral resection and long operation time were significant risk factors for the occurrence of complications following CTG rather than the RGC stage or surgical approach. When multi-visceral resection is required, a more meticulous surgical procedure is warranted to improve the postoperative complications during CTG for RGC after an initial gastric cancer surgery.

Purpose: This study evaluated real-world compliance with surgical treatment according to Korea's gastric cancer treatment guidelines. Materials and Methods: The 2018 Korean Gastric Cancer Treatment Guidelines were evaluated using the 2019 national survey data for surgically treated gastric cancer based on postoperative pathological results in Korea. In addition, the changes in surgical treatments in 2019 were compared with those in the 2014 national survey data implemented before the publication of the guidelines in 2018. The compliance rate was evaluated according to the algorithm recommended in the 2018 Korean guidelines. Results: The overall compliance rates in 2019 were 83% for gastric resection extent, 87% for lymph node dissection, 100% for surgical approach, and 83% for adjuvant chemotherapy, similar to 2014. Among patients with pathologic stages IB, II, and III disease who underwent total gastrectomy, the incidence of splenectomy was 8.08%, a practice not recommended by the guidelines. The survey findings revealed that 48.66% of the patients who underwent gastrectomy had pathological stage IV disease, which was not recommended by the 2019 guidelines. Compared to that in 2014, the rate of gastrectomy in stage IV patients was 54.53% in 2014. Compliance rates were similar across all regions of Korea, except for gastrectomy in patients with stage IV disease. Conclusions Real-world compliance with gastric cancer treatment guidelines was relatively high in Korea.

PURPOSE: Varicose veins are a major problem worldwide and improvement in quality of life (QoL) is the ultimate goal after treatment of this benign disease. However QoL is highly dependent on personal and social factors. This study compares high ligation and stripping (HS) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in terms of QoL and recurrence in Korea. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data between August 2006 and October 2008 was performed for patients undergoing HS and RFA at a single institution. QoL was assessed with a questionnaire preoperatively, at 3 months postoperatively and annually thereafter. Recurrence was assessed by Duplex ultrasound annually after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 272 patients completed the questionnaire at 3 months. Among these patients, 155 patients returned for their annual follow-up. There were no significant differences between HS and RFA in global QoL scores, although RFA showed less pain. However, paresthesia rates were also higher after RFA. Recurrence rates were similar between the two modalities, although technical failures were more common after RFA. CONCLUSION: Overall QoL and recurrence rates were similar between the two modalities. The benefits of RFA do not seem to be enough to overcome the higher costs of HS in Korea.
Catheter Ablation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Ligation ; Paresthesia ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Varicose Veins

Laparoscopic gastrectomy was begun in 1995 in Korea. But, there was 4 years gap to reactivate in 1999. High incidence of gastric cancer and increasing proportion of early cancer through national screening program along with huge effort and enthusiasm of laparoscopic gastric surgeon, and active academic exchange with Japanese doctors contributed development of laparoscopic gastrectomy in Korea. Study group activity of Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS) group and Collaborative Action for Gastric Cancer (COACT) group were paramount to evoke large scale multicenter clinical study and various well performed clinical studies. This review encompasses mainly international publications about this area so far in Korea.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Mass Screening ; Robotics ; Stomach Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To report the initial clinical experience with single-incision laparoscopic gastric wedge resection for submucosal tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of 10 patients who underwent single-incision laparoscopic gastric wedge resection between July 2009 and March 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. The demographic data, clinicopathologic and surgical outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: The mean tumor size was 2.5 cm (range, 1.2~5.0 cm), and the tumors were mostly located on the anterior wall (4/10) or along the greater curvature (4/10), of the stomach. Nine of ten procedures were performed successfully, without the use of additional trocars, or conversion to laparotomy. One patient underwent conversion to multiport laparoscopic surgery, to get simultaneous cholecystectomy safely. The mean operating time was 66.5 minutes (range, 24~132 minutes), and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 5 days (range, 4~7 days). No serious perioperative complications were observed. Of the 10 submucosal tumors, the final pathologic report revealed 5 gastrointestinal stromal tumors, 4 schwannomas, and 1 heterotopic pancreas. CONCLUSIONS: Single-incision laparoscopic gastric wedge resection for gastric submucosal tumors is feasible and safe, when performed by experienced laparoscopic surgeons. This technique provides favorable cosmetic results, and also short hospital stay and low morbidity, in carefully selected candidates.
Cholecystectomy ; Cosmetics ; Gastrectomy ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Neurilemmoma ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Surgical Instruments ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive

PURPOSE: Pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) is known to have both nutritional and functional advantages over distal gastrectomy for the treatment of early gastric cancer. Although laparoscopic surgery is a popular choice, intracorporeal anastomosis is a newly developed technique that is gaining popularity. This study aimed to determine any differences in the oncological, surgical, and functional outcomes of intracorporeal and extracorporeal anastomosis after PPG. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 90 patients for cT1N0 gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopic pylorus preserving gastrectomy from January 2015 to June 2017 at the OOO, Korea; 38 patients underwent intracorporeal (TLPPG) and 52 underwent extracorporeal (LAPPG) anastomosis. The postoperative oncological, surgical, and functional outcomes were compared between the two groups. In order to compare the outcomes in obese patients, the postoperative and functional outcomes in patients with a BMI of ≥25, and in those with abdominal wall thickness measuring ≥28 mm, were evaluated. RESULTS: The TLPPG group showed a significantly reduced wound size (4 cm (3~4) vs 5 cm (5~6), p<0.001) and had fewer wound complaints than the LAPPG group (0.0% vs 15.4%, p=0.01). Postoperative complications were not significantly different between the two groups. In the BMI ≥25 subgroup, the first flatus time after operation was shorter in the TLPPG group (2.9±0.5 vs 3.5±0.8 days, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that both TLPPG and LAPPG are safe and feasible, and that there is a potential benefit for obese patients.
Abdominal Wall ; Flatulence ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Postoperative Complications ; Pylorus ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate recent trends in gastric cancer incidence according to the age, sex, and tumor location in the Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry between 1999 and 2014, gastric cancer incidence, annual percent changes, and male-to-female incidence rate ratios (IRRs) according to tumorlocationwere determined. The distribution of disease extent according to the tumor location and its changes between 2006 and 2014 were also analyzed. RESULTS: Incidence of gastric cancer was stable until 2011 and decreased between 2011 and 2014. The age-standardized incidence rate of gastric cancer was 43.6 (per 100,000) in 1999 and 35.8 in 2014. The proportion of cardia/fundus cancer remained stable (5.9% to 7.1%), and that of body cancer increased (35.3% to 43.2%). The male-to-female IRR decreased in most age groups, except for those in their 60s. In the distribution of disease extent, the proportion of localized disease increased, and regional and distant disease decreased in all tumor locations (53.9% to 66.0%, 31.4% to 22.5%, and 14.8% to 11.5%, respectively; p < 0.001). For histological type, the proportion of carcinoid tumor and non-epithelial tumor increased (0.3% to 1.0%, and 0.8% to 1.4%, respectively). CONCLUSION: In the 15 years from 1999 through 2014, age-standardized incidence of gastric cancer started to decrease from 2012, and the proportion of cardia/fundus cancer remained unchanged. The trend of increasing localized cancer was observed in all tumor locations.
Carcinoid Tumor ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the trend of non-compliance with treatment (NCT) among gastric cancer patients in the Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry from 1999 to 2015, patients who did not receive any treatment for gastric cancer within 4 months after diagnosis were defined as the NCT group. The annual incidence rate, distributions according to age group and stage, and 5-year relative survival of the patients exhibiting NCT were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of NCT patients was 5,871 (30.6%) in 1999 and continuously decreased to 4,434 (15.3%) in 2015. Between 2006 and 2015, the proportions of NCT patients decreased from 72.9% to 55.0% among those 80 years old or older and from 9.2% to 5.4% among patients younger than 40 years. In patients with distant metastases, this proportion decreased from 35.5% to 32.7%, and this proportion also decreased from 17.6% to 8.2% among those with localized disease. The 5-year relative survival rates of NCT patients between 2011 and 2015 were significantly lower than those of the treated patients in each stage (60.2% vs. 99.7%, 13.8% vs. 67.1%, and 2.0% vs. 8.3% among those with localized, regional, and distant disease, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of NCT gastric cancer patients has decreased during the last 16 years. However, considerable numbers of elderly patients are still NCT. There must be a strategy to decrease NCT and improve the nationwide survival rate of patients with gastric cancer.
Aged ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Patient Compliance ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Survival Rate

Purpose: Although there are several studies on the incidence and risk factors for incisional hernia (IH) after open surgery, data about IH after minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for gastric cancer is rare. This study aimed to identify the incidence and risk factors for IH after MIS in gastric cancer patients. Methods: We analyzed the clinicopathologic data of patients who had laparoscopic or robotic gastric cancer surgeries between January 2006 and July 2019 at National Cancer Center, South Korea. Risk factors for development of IH were investigated with univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 2,769 patients underwent laparoscopic-assisted or robot-assisted gastrectomy with extracorporeal gastric resection and reconstruction, while 1,469 underwent totally laparoscopic or totally robotic gastrectomy (TLRG) with intracorporeal gastric resection and reconstruction. IH repair was performed in 23 patients (0.5%) after gastric cancer surgery. In the multivariate analysis, female sex (odds ratio [OR], 5.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.03–13.43; p = 0.001), high body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 (OR, 4.23; 95% CI, 1.73–10.35; p = 0.002), larger tumor size (OR, 21.67; 95% CI, 5.37–87.34; p < 0.001), and intracorporeal procedure (OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 2.15–14.61; p < 0.001) were independent significant risk factors for IH. Conclusion IH after MIS for gastric cancer is not common. Female sex, high BMI, large tumor size, and intracorporeal procedure were significant risk factors for it in this study. Therefore, in patients with risk factors, surgeons should cautiously close the abdominal wall access wound after MIS for gastric cancer, to prevent IH.