The purpose of medicine is to cure patients' illness.As an ancient disease which has not been conquered,cancer has always been accompanying with the development of medicine in human history.Separation and progress of medical subspecialties have promoted human's understanding of cancer and propelled the standardization of cancer treatment.Along with the deepening cognition of pathology,early diagnosis,establishment of surgical and adjuvant therapeutic schedules,the standardized treatment of gastric cancer has stepped forward gradually.The coming big data era will further refine the classification of gastric cancer and provide new opportunities for treatment updating.

The strategies for prevention and treatment of recent complications after radical gastrectomy should be of equal emphasis on both theory and technology.Systematic prevention is the fundamental strategy,and adequate preoperative assessment and preparation are the basis.A reasonable extension of the radical gastrectomy and standard and refined surgical procedures could reduce the occurrence of complications.In addition,identifying these complications timely and taking effective treatments promptly according to the clinical context are the keys to reducing the treatment cycle and decreasing the mortality.

OBJECTIVETo assess the clinical value of the diagnostic laparoscopy in choosing treatment strategies for patients with gastric cancer.

METHODSRetrospective analysis was performed on clinical and pathological data collected from 2 023 patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery in the Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University from 2009 to 2014. All the patients were diagnosed as gastric cancer by endoscopic biopsy and staged by imaging examination before surgery. During the diagnostic laparoscopy procedure, a small periumbilical incision was made and a pneumoperitoneum with COunder 10-15 mmHg was established through a port. A 10 mm trocar was put in, and the camera was inserted. Two 5 mm trocars were put in two ports which located in midclavicular line two fingers under the left and right costal margin and then the instruments were inserted. A thorough inspection included ascites, the abdominal cavity, liver, diaphragm, spleen, greater omentum, colon, small intestine, mesentery, adnexa (female) and pelvic floor. If the tumor located at the posterior part of the stomach, the gastrocolic ligament was opened in order to look for carcinomatosis in the omental bursa. The accuracy rate of diagnostic laparoscopy in diagnosing adjacent organ invasion and intra-abdominal metastasis was calculated, and the rate of adjusting treatment plans after diagnostic laparoscopy was also calculated.

RESULTSThere were 52.7%(1 067/2 023) of patients underwent diagnostic laparoscopy. The accuracy rate of diagnostic laparoscopy in evaluating adjacent organ invasion and intra-abdominal metastasis were 98.3%(1 049/1 067) and 98.1%(1 047/1 067) respectively. Besides, 14 patients with stage T4b and 32 with intra-abdominal metastasis, which were missed by imaging examination, were diagnosed by diagnostic laparoscopy. The treatment plans of 9.3% (99/1 067) of patients were changed after diagnostic laparoscopy, and 65 (6.1%) cases of non-therapeutic laparotomy were avoided. However, 18 cases of adjacent organ invasion and 20 cases of intra-abdominal metastasis were still missed by diagnostic laparoscopy, and 12 cases received non-therapeutic laparotomy.

CONCLUSIONDiagnostic laparoscopy has considerable value in assessing adjacent organ invasion and intra-abdominal metastasis and has great clinical significance in making precise treatment plans.

Abdominal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; secondary ; Digestive System ; pathology ; Digestive System Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopes ; Laparoscopy ; instrumentation ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Laparotomy ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; diagnostic imaging ; Patient Care Planning ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Surgical Instruments ; Unnecessary Procedures ; statistics & numerical data