Mid- and Long-Term Outcomes of Totally Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer. Prospective Study

Purpose: . The laparoscopic approach for gastric carcinoma (GC) is being increasingly implemented. surgeons. Although recent evidence suggests that this surgical approach is associated with improvements in short-term outcomes, mid- and long-term outcomes have not been well studied. This study aimed to evaluate the mid- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) with D1-D2 lymph node dissection for all stages of GC. Methods: . A prospective study of GC treated by laparoscopic approach between January 2004 and December 2019 was performed. The demographics, perioperative data, operation details, length of hospital stay, morbid­ity, mortality and pathologic and oncological outcomes were analyzed. Results: . A total of 70 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 73 years old. Subtotal gastrectomy was performed in 52 cases (74.3%), and total gastrectomy was performed in 18 cases (25.7%). The median operative time was 270 minutes. The median postoperative stay was 10 days. Morbidity was 35.7%, with a mortality of 7.1%. The disease-free survival (DFS) was 61.2% at three years and 52.3% at five years. Conclusions: LG is a feasible and secure surgical procedure for GC with good mid- and long-term results. Advanced age should not be considered a contraindication for LG.