Relevance of reduced-port laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
Single-port and reduced-port laparoscopic surgeries are performed as a less invasive form of surgery than conventional laparoscopy. In this study, short-term patient outcomes were compared between reduced-port laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (RPLDG) and conventional laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) to evaluate the feasibility of RPLDG for gastric cancer.


METHODS
Between August 2010 and July 2011, 38 patients underwent LADGs that were performed by a single surgeon. Of these, 20 patients underwent RPLDG, and 18 patients underwent conventional LADG. Short-term outcomes were compared between the two groups.


RESULTS
Surgical procedures, total operation time (278.8 versus 228.7 min, p = 0.0002) and time for lymph node dissection (181.3 versus 136.3 min, p = 0.0001) were significantly longer in the RPLDG group compared with the LADG group, while the volume of blood loss during reconstruction was reduced (17.5 versus 49.6 ml, p = 0.0019). Cosmetic satisfaction in the RPLDG group showed significant superiority over that in the conventional LADG group (p = 0.0252).


CONCLUSIONS
RPLDG was shown to be an acceptable and satisfactory procedure for the treatment of gastric cancer. To confirm the feasibility of this surgical procedure, it is necessary to conduct a well-designed randomized controlled study comparing RPLDG and conventional LADG in many patients.
Department of Surgery, Gastroenterological Center, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan. s0714@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Chikara
C
Kunisaki
Hidetaka A
HA
Ono
Takashi
T
Oshima
Hirochika
H
Makino
Hirotoshi
H
Akiyama
Itaru
I
Endo
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*