Gastric cancer surgery and its hazards: post operative infection is the most important complication.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate early surgical outcome and analyze postoperative complications of gastric cancer surgery, on the basis of standard auditing system.


METHODS
357 patients who underwent operations for gastric cancer were included in this study. We applied POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Morbidity and mortality) system to predict morbidity. The observed to estimated morbidity ratio (O: E) was calculated to give risk adjusted morbidity. All the complications were stratified according to its severity and analyzed separately.


RESULTS
Observed morbidity was not significantly different from predicted value, the O: E ratio was 1.01. Overall, 137 patients were observed to have postop complications (including 5 death); infection was the main complication which complicated about 17 per cent patients and occupying 44 per cent of all complications. Pulmonary infection rate was on the top.


CONCLUSIONS
Post operative complication is higher in gastric cancer surgery. POSSUM system along with stratification of complications is a reliable algorithm in surgical audit to analyze various complications. Postoperative infection is the culprit of various complications. Postoperative infection especially the pulmo-nary infection stands on the top of all complications. More prospective study including basic researches is necessary to explore the etiology of different compilations.
Sah
B K
BK
Department of General Surgery, Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai, China.
Zhu
Z G
ZG
Chen
M M
MM
Yan
M
M
Yin
Hao Ran
HR
Zhen
Lin Yan
LY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult