Nationwide Survey of Laparoscopic Gastric Surgery in Korea

전국 복강경 위 수술 현황 설문조사

The Information Committee of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association sent questionnaires to 31 laparoscopic gastric surgeons about their personal experiences with laparoscopic gastric surgery from 2001 to 2003. Twenty-four surgeons responded to the questionnaires (response rate: $77.4\%$).The number of laparoscopic gastric surgeries from 2001 to 2003 was 1,130 and increased from 209 in 2001 to 593 in 2003. The number of operations for a gastric adenocarcinoma also increased from 87 cases in 2001 to 403 cases in 2003. Laparoscopic radical procedures, such as a laparoscopyassisted distal gastrectomy or total gastrectomy (LADG or LATG), have increased rapidly during this period. (55 cases in 2001, 150 cases in 2002, and 364 cases in 2003). Laparoscopic function-preserving gastrectomies were not performed until 2003, during which year one pylorus- preserving gastrectomy and six proximal gastrectomies were performed laparoscopically. A wedge resection for a gastric submucosal tumor was performed in 71 cases in 2001, 82 in 2002, and 103 in 2003. Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) was performed in 39 cases in 2001, 55 in 2002, and 49 in 2003. As for personal indications for a LADG, 14 surgeons performed a LADG only for a T1 lesion, and 5 surgeons extended their indications to T2N0 lesions. In the near future, laparoscopic procedures for gastric cancer will be widely adopted in Korea if the medical-insurance obstacle is overcome and the long-term survival results are verified.