Long-term outcome and survival with laparoscopy-assisted pylorus-preserving gastrectomy for early gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopically assisted pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (LAPPG) is introduced as a function-preserving operation with minimal invasion for early gastric cancer (EGC). This study aimed to investigate the long-term outcome and survival with LAPPG.

METHODS

From January 2005 to July 2008, 188 patients with EGC underwent LAPPG. The surgical and long-term outcomes and survival were assessed retrospectively.

RESULTS

The accuracy of the preoperative EGC diagnosis was 92.6%. The median follow-up period was 38 months (range, 2-63 months). Two patients experienced gallstones, and three patients experienced a second primary EGC. One patient with T3N0 gastric cancer died of peritoneal metastasis, and four patients died of other causes. The overall 3-year survival rate was 97.8%, and the disease-specific 3-year survival rate was 99.3%.

CONCLUSIONS

The LAPPG procedure is safe in terms of satisfactory long-term outcome and survival for patients with EGC in the middle third of the stomach.