Feasibility and Safety of Laparoscopy-Assisted Subtotal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer Invading the Upper Stomach

This study evaluated the feasibility and safety of laparoscopy-assisted subtotal gastrectomy preserving a minimal remnant stomach for clinical T1 gastric cancer invading the upper stomach. Forty-three consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted subtotal gastrectomy preserving a minimal remnant stomach were examined. In addition to the conventional laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy, some short and posterior gastric arteries were resected. A minimal remnant stomach-jejunum anastomosis was made by using a circular stapler with regular anvil or transoral anvil. Transoral anvil was selected in 19 patients, and regular anvil was used in 24 patients. The median operation time was 288 minutes, and the median blood loss was 50 mL. Conversion to open surgery was required in 2 patients due to bleeding. No patient required conversion to open surgery due to the difficulty of the anastomosis. Nine patients developed postoperative complications, including grade 3 duodenal stump leakage in 1 patient and grade 2 anastomotic bleeding in another patient. No mortality was observed. Laparoscopy-assisted subtotal gastrectomy preserving a minimal remnant stomach is safe and feasible for early gastric cancer invading the upper stomach.