• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.5 no.3 s.19
• /
• pp.152-157
• /
• 2005

Purpose: A total gastrectomy is generally peformed for the treatment of upper third gastric cancer. However, the optimal extent of resection for early-stage upper third gastric cancer is still controversial. In this research, we compared the nutritional status and the quality of life in patients who underwent a total gastrectomy with uncut Roux en Y esophagojejunostomy with those in patients who underwent a proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy for treatment of upper third gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 50 patients with no evidence of recurrent disease following curative surgery for upper third gastric cancer. Among this group, 25 patients underwent a total gastrectomy (TG) and 25 patients a proximal gastrectomy (PG). 8 TG and 4 PG patients were excluded from this study because of death, refusal to interview etc. The nutritional status was assessed by measuring body weight, serum albumin, serum hemoglobin, and serum total protein. The gastrointestinal function and the quality of life were assessed by Cuschieri grading and modified Visick qrading. Results: In analysis of covariance of age and preoperative serum albumin, PG patients demonstrated lower weight loss (P=0.038), elevated serum albumin (P=0.049), and better outcome based on modified Visick grading (P=0.016) than TG, but there were no significant differences in the serum hemoglobin change (P=0.165), serum total protein change (P=0.435), and Cuschieri grading (P=0.064) between the preoperative and the postoperative data. Conclusion: In this study, a proximal gastrectomy led to a better nutritional status and quality of life than a total gastrectomy, as judged from the low weight loss, elevated serum albumin and better modified Visick grade.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.277-283
• /
• 2006

Purpose: The way in which the resection margin distance for gastric cancer patients who undergo a gastric resection influences the recurrence rate, aspects of recurrence, and the prognosis according to the characteristic of the tumor is not known. We aim to find a standard for tailor-made treatment after selecting patients in this point of view who need a more sufficient resection margin. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was done on 1,472 patients who underwent a gastrectomy due to gastric cancer at our hospital from 1992 to 2005. The median follow-up period was 37 months. Results: There were no significant differences in the recurrence rate, the aspects of recurrence, and the 5-year survival rate between early gastric cancer (EGC) patients with a resection margin distance of less than 2 cm compared with EGC patients with a resection margin distance of greater than 2 cm. However, significant differences in the survival rate were found in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients when the patients were classified into groups with resection margin distances less than or greater than 3 cm (P=0.02). Significant differences were noted especially in cases of diffuse histologic-type tumors located in the lower third of the stomach and in cases with Borrmann type-3 and -4 tumors. Conclusion: The distance between the tumor resection margin and the proximal gastric resection margin has no significant influence on the survival rate in EGC patients if the resection margin is negative. However, to improve a patient's survival rate, it is important to guarantee a resection margin of more than 3 cm in AGC patients, especially when the tumor is a diffuse histologic type located in the lower third of the stomach or a Borrmann type 3 and 4.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.34 no.11
• /
• pp.843-847
• /
• 2001

Background: Replacement of the esophagus remains a challenge for surgeons involved in esophageal disease. From 1996 to 1999, a total of 27 patients with esophageal cancer underwent free jejunal transfer(12cases) or esophagogastrostomy(15cases). To determine the results such as leakage of anastomosis site, stenosis, reflux esophagitis and operation time, respiratory complications, etc. we reviewed the 4 years experiences. Material and method: Palliative bypass surgery or esophageal prosthesis and cancers of the pharyngoesophageal or esophagogastric junction were excluded in this study. Resection was usually peformed through right thoracotomy and anastomosis was made with EEA staplers in esophagogas-trstomy. In cases of jejunal free transfer, 6cases of proximal esophagojejunostomy were stapled anastomosed and remaining 6 cases and all distal site were hand-sewn anastomosed. All reconstruction was done through posteromediastinal route. Result: There were two mortalities from thoracic esophagogastrostomy and one from jeunal free transfer. Major and minor complications(anastomosis site leakage: 3 cases, graft failure: 2cases etc) occurred in 27 cases. In 15 thoracic esophagogastrostomy cases, 11 patients had mild to moderate reflux esophagitis and 5 patients incurred stricture of the anastomosis. Operation time was about 550$\pm$280 minutes in jejunal free transfer, and about 300$\pm$ 160 minutes in esophagogastromy patients. Conclusion: Post operative reflux esophagitis and dysphagia were more frequent in Ivor-Lewis operation group than jejunal free transfer group; however, respiratory complications and operation time were significantly longer in jejunal (roe transfer group(p<0.05). To minimize the incidence of postoperative reflux esophagitis and dysphagia, patient evaluation focused on jejunal free transfer surgery is better than esophagogastrostomy followed by adequate post operative care.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2006

Purpose: A proximal gastrectomy is performed for gastric cancer in the upper part of the stomach to preserve the function of the stomach after surgery. An esophagogastrostomy is one of the common reconstruction methods for a proximal gastrectomy, but this method results in a high incidence of reflux esophagitis. This study was undertaken to compare subjective and functional results between esophagogastrostomy and jejunal interposition reconstructions. Materials and Methods: From June 1998 to December 2002, proximal gastrectomies were performed in 33 patients with tumors in the upper third of the stomach; 8 had reconstruction using jejunal interposition between the esophagus and the remnant stomach (JI group) while 25 had reconstruction using esophagogastrostomy (EG group). The postroperative courses of the patients were reviewed in terms of symptoms, weight changes, and endoscopic findings. Results: The mean age of the patients was 59 years; 26 were men and 7 were women. There were no significant differences in general complications, operating times, or histologic features between the two groups. Fifty-two percent (52%) of the EG group complained of dysphagia, and 16% them experienced heartburn and acid belching. Twelve percent (12%) of the JI group complained of dysphagia, but heartburn and acid belching did not occur. Incidences of reflux esphagitis (36%) and balloon dilatation for anastomotic stricture (16%) were more common in the EG group than in the JI group (0% and 12%). Conclusion: To prevent or minimize complications, such as reflux esophagitis and postoperative symptoms, a proximal gastrectomy with a jejunal interposition is an alternative method as an organ-preserving surgical strategy to improve quality of life for patients. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2006;6:1-5)

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.217-224
• /
• 2008

Purpose: For most surgeons, colon interposition after gastrectomy remains an infrequently performed procedure because of its complexity. The aim of this study was to assess its technical feasibility and safety as a post-gastrectomy reconstruction method by reviewing our experience with colon interposition. Materials and Methods: From March 2001 to February 2002, 30 colon interpositions after-gastrectomy were done with using the ileo-ascending or transverse colon. We analyzed the clinicopathologic features and the surgical outcomes. Results: There were 16 males and 14 females in this study with a mean age of 67.5 years (range: 31 to 76 years). Twenty-five ascending colons and 5 transverse colons were used for the interposition, respectively. The mean operation time was 373 minutes (range: 204 to 600 minutes). There were 9 operative morbidities (30%) and 1 operative mortality. The restoration of bowel motility was noted at 3.8 postoperative days; a soft diet was started at 4.9 postoperative days and the duration of the hospital stay was 18.2 days. The percentage of weight loss in the patients with total, proximal and distal gastrectomy was 16.3%, 14.0% and 8.8%, respectively, at 6 months, and thereafter the weight loss gradually recovered as 8.1%, 7.5% and 5.6%, respectively, at 5 years postoperatively. Gastric stasis was the one of the most meaningful long-term complications, and especially in the patients who underwent distal gastrectomy with colon interposition. Conclusion: Colon interposition after gastrectomy was a very complex procedure with a long operating time and many anastomosis sites. The postoperative outcomes failed to achieve satisfactory weight gain and the patients displayed postprandial symptoms. This suggested that this procedure was not an appropriate procedure for conventional reconstruction after gastrectomy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.97-101
• /
• 2007

We report our experience with a case of performing laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy along with pancreas-preserving splenectomy for treating early gastric cancer. laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy was planned for a 62-year-old male patient with a double early gastric cancer located in the upper and lower third of the stomach. Five trocars were placed and we used a harmonic scalpel to dissect the greater curvature. Enlarged splenic hilar lymph node was encountered and they were proved to be metastasis by frozen section biopsy. We then performed total gastrectomy with pancreas-preserving splenectomy for the purpose of completely dissecting the lymph nodes along the splenic artery and splenic hilum. We created a 4 cm sized longitudinal mini-laparotomy below the xiphoid process to remove the specimen, and anastomosis was done via the Roux-en-Y method. The patient was discharged on the 9th postoperative days after an uneventful recovery. Our experience shows that laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy with pancreas-preserving splenectomy is a relatively safe procedure for treating upper third early gastric cancer with metastatic splenic hilar lymph nodes.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.145-150
• /
• 2002

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the shortterm outcome of a pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy by comparing it with a jejunal interposition after a total gastrectomy in proximal gastric adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: For 22 patients (12 men and 10 women) who underwent a pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy, several clinical parameters were obtained from the medical records retrospectively. In this study, the data were collected between September 1993 and December 1999 at Chungnam National University Hospital, and the results were compared with those of 25 patients (17 men and 8 women) who underwent an isoperistaltic simple jejunal interposition. Results: The average operative time in the pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy group (220 minutes) was shorter than that in the jejunal interposition group (243 minutes) (P<0.05). The hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were significantly higher in the pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy group at 2 years after the operation. The body weight ratio (postoperative body weight/preoparative body weight) in patients who had a pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy was significantly higher than that in patients with a jejunal interposition at 2 years after the operation. The jejunal interposition procedure had better outcomes in anastomotic site stricture, duration of hospital stay, and number of removed lymph nodes (P<0.05). Conclusions: We think that from the viewpoint of quality of life, a pylorus-preserving proximal gastrectomy, as well as a jejunal interposition, is a useful reconstruction method for early adenocarcinomas of the proximal stomach. However, stricture of the esophagogastrostomy site in the pyloruspreserving proximal gastrectomy is a common problem to be solved in the future.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.206-212
• /
• 2007

Purpose: The number of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomies (LADG) is gradually increasing for the treatment of early gastric cancer (EGC) patients as a surgical modality for improving quality of life. However, there are few reports on laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG), mainly because this procedure is performed relatively infrequently, and the procedure is more complicated than LADG. This study was performed to evaluate the technical feasibility, safety, and surgical results of LATG with lymphadenectomy through a review of our experience. Materials and Methods: From July 2003 to June 2007, 77 LATG with Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy were performed for patients with a preoperative diagnosis of EGC. The clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results: There were 49 males and 28 females in the study with a mean age of 61 years (range $30{\sim}85$ years). The mean operation time was 210 minutes (range $100{\sim}400$ minutes) and the operation time was gradually decreased as the case numbers increased. There were 13 operative morbidities (16.9%) and no operative mortalities. The restoration of bowel motility was noted at 3.2 postoperative days; a soft diet was started at 4.4 postoperative days and the duration of hospital stay was 10 days. There were 20 mucosal lesions, 32 submucosal lesions, 15 proper muscle lesions, 7 subserosal lesions and 3 serosal lesions. A total of 20 patients were treated by D2 lymph node dissection, 55 patients were treated by D1+$\beta$ lymph node dissection, and two patients were treated by D1+$\alpha$ lymph node dissection. The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes was 42 (range $11{\sim}86$). Lymph node metastases were noted in 12 patients. Conclusion: This study indicated LATG could be applied safely and effectively for patients with EGC. However, a prospective study comparing laparoscopy-assisted versus open gastrectomy for short-term and long-term surgical outcome is needed.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.141-147
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the short-term operative outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) with those of open total gastrectomy (OTG) for patients suffering with advanced upper gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Of the 47 patients who underwent LATG with $D1+{\beta}$ or D2 lymphadenectomy from July 2004 to March 2008, 29 patients with pathologically proven advanced gastric cancer were compared with 35 patients who underwent conventional OTG during the same time period. The comparison was based on the clinicopathological characteristics, the surgical outcome, the follow-up survival and tumor recurrence. Results: The patients' age, gender and body mass index were similar between the two groups. However, there were statistically differences in tumor size ($9.2{\pm}3.9$ vs $6.1{\pm}3.6cm$, P=0.002) and the proximal resected margin ($2.1{\pm}2.0$ vs $3.6{\pm}2.1cm$ P=0.004). There was no significant difference in most of the peri- and post-operative courses such as the time to first flatus, the time to starting a solid diet and the length of the hospital stay, except for a longer operating time (289.0 vs. 361.3 minutes, P<0.001) in the LATG group. The complication rate was higher in the LATG group (13.8%) than that in the OTG group (5.7%). The mean overall survival and disease free survival times were 32 and 31 months, and 24 and 28 months, respectively, with an average 18.8 months follow-up duration. The main recurrent sites were peritoneum and lymph node in both groups. Conclusion: The early results of the current study suggest that LATG for AGC is technically feasible and it does not show any inferiorities of the postoperative outcomes as compared to those of conventional open total gastrectomy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.97-103
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Radical surgery is the standard therapy for patients with resectable cardia cancer. In the case of type II disease with esophageal invasion, a transhiatal extended radical total gastrectomy is needed or a gastroesophagectomy through an abdomino-thoracotomy, depending on the extent of the esophageal invasion. We analyzed the indications and outcome of left colon interposition as an esophageal substitution. Materials and Methods: Between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2006, 10 patients underwent left colon interposition after gastroesophagectomy through an abdomino-thoracotomy or the tanshiatal approach for type II cardia cancer at the Department of surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine. The outcomes of these patients were reviewed and compared, with those who underwent a Roux-en-Y, by gender and age matched analysis, retrospectively. Results: There were nine males and one female with a mean age of 52.5 (range, 16~72). The operation time was $449.00{\pm}87.39minutes$. The mean distance between the proximal resection margin and the cancer was $6.56{\pm}3.65cm$; the maximum size of the tumor was $9.90{\pm}3.97cm$. These measures differed significantly from patients who underwent Roux-en-Y. The patients had a double primary cancer in the cardia and esophagus. There were no events of colon necrosis. However, a pneumothorax occurred in one patient (10%) and a proximal anastomotic stricture occurred in one patient. There were no reports of heartburn, regurgitation, thoracic or epigastric fullness, and one patient even gained weight, 16 kg. Conclusion: Colon interposition after esophagogastrectomy was safe and effective and should be considered as an additional surgical option for locally advanced type II cardia cancer patients with esophageal invasion.