OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical feasibility of laparoscope-assisted D2 radical total gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

METHODSFrom March 2011 to March 2013, 216 gastric cancer patients underwent D2 radical total gastrectomy in our hospital, including 118 laparoscopic and 98 open procedures. The intraoperative and postoperative outcomes between the two groups were compared.

RESULTSCompared with open surgery group, laparoscopic group had longer operation time [(253.9 ± 26.1) min vs. (206.2 ± 23.9) min, P<0.01], less intraoperative blood loss [(138.4 ± 34.0) ml vs. (266.3 ± 58.7) ml, P<0.01], shorter postoperative hospital stay [(10.3 ± 1.4) d vs. (13.9 ± 2.0) d, P<0.01], and lower morbidity of postoperative complication [16.1% (19/118) vs. 29.6% (29/98), P<0.05]. There were no significant differences in the number of lymph node removed [(26.2 ± 6.2 vs. 27.6 ± 5.6)], postoperative morbidity of complication [1.7% (2/118) vs. 2.0% (2/98)], and 2-year survival rate(99.0% vs. 98.6%) between the two groups (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONAs compared to open surgery, laparoscope-assisted D2 radical total gastrectomy is safe, feasible with the advantage of rapid postoperative recovery.

Aged ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome