Digestive System Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; Robotics

Objective To explore the safety and feasibility of vagus nerve-preserving Da Vinci robotassisted radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.Methods The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted.The clinicopathological data of 12 gastric cancer patients who underwent vagus nerve-preserving Da Vinci robotassisted radical gastrectomy at the Southwest Hospital of the Third Military Medical University from January 2015 to November 2016 were collected.All patients underwent vagus nerve-preserving Da Vinci robot-assisted radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.During operation,lymph node dissection of the pyloric region,the right side of the cardia and the superior margin of the pancreas were noticed,and other surgical procedures were the same as the traditional Da Vinci robot-assisted radical gastrectomy.Observation indicators:(1) intra-and post-operative situations:surgical methods,digestive tract reconstruction,operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss,number of lymph node dissected,results of postoperative pathological examination,recovery time of gastrointestinal function,time for liquid diet intake,duration of postoperative hospital stay,short-term surgery-related complications (postoperative bleeding,anastomotic fistula,obstruction and intra-abdominal infection);(2)follow-up situations:postoperative long-term complications (gastric retention,alkaline reflux gastritis,dumping syndrome,gallbladder disease and cholelithiasis),postoperative quality of life (diet,upper abdominal discomfort,nausea,vomiting and diarrhea),postoperative nutritional status [body weight,hemoglobin (Hb),total protein (TP),albumin (Alb)] and tumor recurrence.Follow-up using telephone interview and outpatient examination was performed up to December 2016.Telephone interview included detecting diet of patients,digestive tract symptoms and body weight.Routine blood test,liver and kidney functions,tumor markers,chest X-ray,abdominal computed tomography (CT) or color Doppler ultrasound and gastroscopy of outpatient examinations were performed to detect tumor recurrence and metastasis.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as x±s and measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range).Results (1) Intra-and post-operative situations:all the 12 patients underwent successful vagus nerve-preserving Da Vinci robot-assisted radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer,without conversion to laparoscopic surgery or open surgery,including 2 patients with D1 lymphadenectomy,2 patients with extended D1 lymphadenectomy and 8 patients with D2 lymphadenectomy.Five and 7 patients underwent respectively Billroth Ⅰ anastomosis and Billroth Ⅱ anastomosis of digestive tract reconstruction.Operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss and number of lymph node dissected of 12 patients were (247± 34) minutes,(94 ± 23) mL and 27 ± 7,respectively.Results of postoperative pathological examination showed that distal and proximal surgical margins of 12 patients were negative and achieved R0 resection;326 lymph nodes were dissected,6 patients didn't have lymph node metastasis and 18 positive lymph nodes were detected in 6 patients.Recovery time of gastrointestinal function,time for liquid diet intake and duration of postoperative hospital stay in 12 patients were (57±14)hours,(64± 14)hours and (7.3±0.9)days,respectively.There was no occurrence of short-term surgery-related complications.(2) Follow-up situations:12 patients were followed up by telephone interview (10 receiving outpatient exaninations) for 9 months (range,1-20 months).Of 12 patients with long-term complications,2 had loss of appetite,1 had diarrhea,without occurrence of cholelithiasis,cholecystitis,gastric retention and dumping syndrome.Of 10 patients receiving outpatient examinations,body weight,Hb,TP and Alb were (56± 12) kg,(126± 10) g/L,(69.9±5.1) g/L,(43.2±3.3)g/L at 1 month postoperatively and (52±13)kg,(126±10)g/L,(72.1±2.4)g/L,(45.2±1.6)g/L at 3 months postoperatively,respectively,with negative carcinoembryonic antigen.There was no tumor recurrence and metastasis in 12 patients.Conclusion Vagus nerve-preserving Da Vinci robot-assisted radical gastrectomy is safe and feasible for gastric cancer,which has not affected the lymph node dissection and incidence of surgeryrelated complications,and it also can improve the postoperative quality of life and maintain good nutritional status.

In recent years, the medical graduates who take part in postgraduate examination have been increasing each year. The preparation for postgraduate examination affects the clinical practice, but not yet has a quantitative report. This article studied the students in general surgery, which were divided into postgraduate examination group and clinical practice group. By comparing the theoretical knowledge results and the clinical practice skills between the two groups we found that there was no difference between the two groups in the theoretical and operating skill when they were just in the department, and the operating results in the clinical practice group were better than the postgraduate examination group when they were out of the department.

Objective To investigate the expression of Ezrin in gastric cancer tissues and its clinical significance.Methods Gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal gastric tissues from 60 patients with gastric cancer were collected from June 2008 to May 2009 at the Southwest Hospital.The mRNA and protein expressions of Ezrin were detected by using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot.The relationship between Ezrin and the gender and age of patients,and tumor differentiation,pathological staging,depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis was analyzed.All data were analyzed using the t test,chi-square test and Spearman rank correlation.Results The Ezrin mRNA expression level was increased in 33 (55％) cases of adjacent normal gastric tissues and 21 (35％) cases of gastric cancer tissues; the Ezrin protein expression level was increased in 45 (75％) cases of adjacent normal gastric tissues and 22 (37％) cases of gastric cancer tissues.The mRNA and protein expressions of Ezrin in the normal adjacent gastric tissues were 1.30 ± 0.04 and 3.57 ± 0.45,respectively,which were significantly higher than 0.53 ± 0.36 and 0.96 ± 0.18 in the gastric cancer tissues ( t =5.309,22.617,P ＜ 0.05 ).The mRNA expression of Ezrin was positively correlated with the protein expression of Ezrin (r =0.602,P ＜ 0.05 ).The mRNA and protein expressions of Ezrin were related to the pathological stages,depth of invasion and state of lymph node metastasis (x2 =6.41,6.49,4.62; 5.40,8.87,4.12,P ＜ 0.05),but not to the gender,age and tumor differentiation (x2 =0.50,0.07,1.07 ; 0.01,1.16,1.96,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The mRNA and protein expressions of Ezrin are significantly decreased in the gastric cancer tissue,which might be responsible for genesis,development and metastasis of gastric cancer.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of single-port Da Vinci robotic surgical system in the radical gastrectomy of gastric cancer.Methods The retrospective descriptive study was conducted.The clinical data of the first patient in China who underwent single-port radical gastrectomy of gastric cancer using Da Vinci robotic surgical system in the Southwest Hospital of the Third Military Medical University in June 2017 were collected.Patient underwent radical gastrectomy of gastric cancer using single-port Da Vinci robotic surgical system +D2 lymph node dissection + Billroth Ⅱ anastomosis.Observation indicators:(1) intra-and post-operative situations;(2) follow-up and patients' survival.Follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was performed to detect the patients' postoperative survival up to July 2017.Results (1) Intra-and postoperative situations:patient underwent radical distal subtotal gastrectomy of gastric cancer using single-port Da Vinci robotic surgical system.Operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss were respectively 303 minutes and 100 mL.There was no intraoperative complication.The distances from tumor to proximal margin and distal margin were 5 cm and 6 cm.Number of lymph node dissected and length of abdominal incision were 51 and 3 cm.Time of gastric tube removal,time for out-of-bed activity,time of gastrointestinal function recovery,time of drainage tube removal and postoperative pain score were 17 hours,24 hours,36 hours,36 hours and 3,respectively.Patient took a little fluid diet after gastric tube removal.There was no occurrence of postoperative complication.Results of pathological examination showed that tumor invaded deep muscular layer,with 2 positive lymph nodes in No.3 and negative proximal and distal margins.Pathological staging was pT2N1M0 (Ⅱa staging).Duration of hospital stay was 6 days.(2) Follow-up and patients' survival:patient was followed up for 1 month,with a good survival.Conclusion The single-port Da Vinci robotic surgical system is safe and feasible in the radical gastrectomy of gastric cancer,with good short-term outcomes.

Objective To investigate the effect of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the gastric cancer cell migration and invasion via regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its potential function.Methods (1) Human gastric cancer cell MGC-803 lines in the logarithmic growth phase were stimulated by 0, 1 ng/mL, 10 ng/mL,100 ng/mL and 1μg/mL of IL-17 for 48 hours, and the phenotypic changes were observed.The concentration of IL-17 was selected for follow-on experiments based on the most obvious phenotypic changes.Gastric cancer cell MGC-803 which were stimulated by 100 ng/mL of IL-17 and PBS for 48 hours were allocated into the experimental group and control group, respectively.(2) The expressions of E-cadherin and Vimentin mRNA in gastric cancer cells were assayed through real-time PCR (RT-PCR).(3) The relative expressions of E-cadherin and Vimentin proteins in gastric cancer cells were assayed by the Western blot.(4) The scratch test and Transwell detection were also utilized to study the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cell MGC-803 in vitro.Measurement data with normal distribution were presented as-x ± s and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test.Results (1) There were significant phenotypic changes in the gastric cancer cell after the different concentration of IL-17 stimulated gastric cancer cell MGC-803 for 48 hours.Cells were changed from polygonal and tight junction to spindle and loosely junction with a deterioration of cell adhesion.Cell phenotypes were gradually changed as the concentration of IL-17 was changed from 0 to 100 ng/mL.Phenotypic changes were the most obvious when 100 ng/mL of IL-17 was used, but these were non-significant as the concentration of IL-17 increased to 1 μg/mL with the death and floating of some cells.(2) The relative expressions of E-cadherin mRNA and Vimentin mRNA in RT-PCR were 0.45 ±0.13 and 1.06 ±0.23 in the experimental group and 2.39 ±0.55 and 1.23±0.41 in the control group, respectively, with significant differences (t =3.811, 2.923, P ＜0.05).(3) The results of Western blot showed the relative expressions of E-cadherin and Vimentin proteins were 0.86 ± 0.17 and 1.56 ± 0.29 in the experimental group and 1.01 ± 0.12 and 0.56 ± 0.17 in the control group, respectively, with significant differences (t =3.551, 3.601, P ＜ 0.05).(4) Cell migration in the 2 groups were detected by the scratch test at 36 hours after scratch test, and the width of scratch in the experimental and control groups were (0.76 ± 0.13) mm and (0.40 ± 0.15) mm, showing a significant difference (t =3.095, P ＜ 0.05).Transwell detection showed number of transmembrane cell in the experimental and control groups were 159 ±28 and 94 ± 18, respectively, with a significant difference (t =3.307, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion IL-17 can promote the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells via stimulating alteration of EMT.

Objective To explore the efficacy of laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy for patients with gastric cancer. Methods The clinical data of 726 patients who received laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer at the Southwest Hospital from January 2004 to April 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The operation time, operative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, length of hospital stay and mobidity were evaluated using t test or chi-square test. The survival of the patients were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier method.Results Laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy was successfully carried out on 707 patients, and 19 patients were converted to open surgery. The mean operation time, operative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected were (179 ±52)minutes, (87 ±51) ml and 33 ± 14, respectively. The average distances of proximal and distal resection margin to the tumors were (6.3 ± 1.9)cm and (5.6 ± 1.7)cm, respectively. The average time to flatus, time to fluid diet and length of hospital stay were (2.9 ± 1.4) days, (3.1 ± 1.7) days and (7.9 ± 3.5) days,respectively. The peri- and postoperative mobidities were 2.2% (16/726) and 4.0% (29/726), respectively. A total of 685 patients were followed up for 6-82 months (mean, 48.3 months), and the 5-year survival rate was 58.4%. Conclusions Laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy is a feasible procedure with minimal trauma, low morbidity and quick recovery of patients.

Objective To study the expression of VEGF-C and it's relationship with pathologic characteristics in rectal cancer.Method In this study 82 patients of mid to low rectal cancer underwent radieal resection from December 2007 to August 2008.Tumor tissues and lymph nodes were studied by immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-C expression in the tumor tissue and CK20 expression in D3 lymph nodes.Results were compared with the pathological results of mesenterium lymph nodes to explain the relationships between VEGF-C expressions and clinical pathologic characteristics.Data were analyzed with Chi square test.Result As for the expression of VEGF-C.significant differences were found between tumor stages(X~2=8.529,P<0.05)and between positive and negative lymph node metastasis(X~2=4.712,P<0.05).but there was no difference between that of mesenterium lymph node metastasis and D3 lymph node micrometastasis(X~2=0.017,P>0.05). Conclmion In rectal cancer,VEGF-C expression is correlated with tumor stage,type,metastasis and micrometastasis of lymph node.

With the development of instrumentation and surgical techniques,laparoscopic gastrectomy has become a promising surgical option for the treatment of gastric cancer.While laparoscopic gastrectomy is high technique-demanding,which hampered its popularization.Compared with traditional laparoscopes,Da Vinci surgical system has more special features,such as flexible robotic arms and three-dimensional imaging,which facilitates surgical procedures.A 58-year-old male patient with gastric cancer underwent Da Vinci surgical system-assisted radical total gastrectomy at the Southwest Hospital in March 2010.The mean operation time and blood loss were 270 minutes and 60 ml,respectively,and the number of dissected lymph nodes was 21.The short-term clinical effect was perfect without postoperative complications.Da Vinci surgical system-assisted radical total gastrectomy is safe and feasible,and it brings challenges to conventional laparoscopes.

The operation path, lymph node dissection and reconstruction of the alimentary tract are the three most technical difficulties of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy. The essential difference between laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy and open gastrectomy is the operation path. Based on our clinical experience, we investigated reasonable paths for laparoscopyassisted gastrectomy. Patients were placed in a supine position with their legs apart, and the operator stood on the left side of the patient. Five trocars were placed in the abdominal wall in a curved line. The operation was carried out in the order of greater gastric curvature, the lower region of the pylorus and antrum,the upper region of the pancreas, omentum minus, cardia, and arcuate diaphragm. From May 2004 to April 2010, we successfully carried out 761 laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomies with satisfactory outcomes.