title: Intracorporeal anastomosis in laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery.
abstract: Laparoscopic gastrectomy has become widely used as a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of gastric cancer. When it was first introduced, most surgeons preferred a laparoscopic-assisted approach with a minilaparotomy rather than a totally laparoscopic procedure because of the technical challenges of achieving an intracorporeal anastomosis. Recently, with improved skills and instruments, several surgeons have reported the safety and feasibility of a totally laparoscopic gastrectomy with intracorporeal anastomosis. This review describes the recent technical advances in intracorporeal anastomoses using circular and linear staplers that allow for totally laparoscopic distal, total, and proximal gastrectomies. Data that demonstrate advantages in early surgical outcomes of a total laparoscopic method compared to laparoscopic-assisted operations are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Osaka Red Cross Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisahiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hosogi
authors.forename: Seiichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanaya
keywords: Circular stapler; Intracorporeal anastomosis; Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy; Laparoscopic total gastrectomy; Linear stapler