Case-matched comparison of laparoscopy-assisted and open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer

AIM: To compare short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted and open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed by comparing the outcomes of 54 patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) with those of 54 patients who underwent open distal gastrectomy (ODG) between October 2004 and October 2007. The patients' demographic data (age and gender), date of surgery, extent of lymphadenectomy, and differentiation and tumor-node-metastasis stage of the tumor were examined. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative recovery, complications, pathological findings, and follow-up data were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean operative time was significantly longer in the LADG group than in the ODG group (259.3 +/- 46.2 min vs 199.8 +/- 40.85 min; P < 0.05), whereas intraoperative blood loss and postoperative complications were significantly lower (160.2 +/- 85.9 mL vs 257.8 +/- 151.0 mL; 13.0% vs 24.1%, respectively, P < 0.05). In addition, the time to first flatus, time to initiate oral intake, and postoperative hospital stay were significantly shorter in the LADG group than in the ODG group (3.9 +/- 1.4 d vs 4.4 +/- 1.5 d; 4.6 +/- 1.2 d vs 5.6 +/- 2.1 d; and 9.5 +/- 2.7 d vs 11.1 +/- 4.1 d, respectively; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the LADG group and ODG group with regard to the number of harvested lymph nodes. The median follow-up was 60 mo (range, 5-97 mo). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates were 94.3%, 90.2%, and 76.7%, respectively, in the LADG group and 89.5%, 84.7%, and 82.3%, respectively, in the ODG group. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 98.0%, 91.9%, and 81.1%, respectively, in the LADG group and 91.5%, 86.9%, and 82.1%, respectively, in the ODG group. There was no signi.cant difference between the two groups with regard to the survival rate. CONCLUSION: LADG is suitable and minimally invasive for treating distal gastric cancer and can achieve similar long-term results to ODG. (C) 2013 Baishideng. All rights reserved.