• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.239-242
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• 2011

A debate is currently ongoing about whether a large gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) should be treated by the laparoscopic approach because of the increased risk of tumor rupture during manipulation of the tumor with laparoscopic instruments and the resultant peritoneal tumor dissemination. Herein, we report a case of a large GIST of the stomach which was successfully treated by the laparoscopic approach. A 57 year old female patient visited our institution complaining of postprandial epigastric discomfort. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy and an abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a $10{\times}8$ cm sized submucosal tumor at the greater curvature side of the gastric antrum. The patient underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with intracorporeal Billroth-II reconstruction without any breakage of the tumor. Her postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged on the 7th postoperative day. Even a large GIST of the stomach can safely be treated by the laparoscopic approach when it is performed with proper techniques by an experienced surgeon.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2005

Purpose: In Korea, the number of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomies for early gastric cancer patients has been increasing lately. Although minimally invasive surgery is more beneficial, no reported case of a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy has been reported because of difficulty with intracorporeal anastomosis. This study attempts, through our experiences, to determine the feasibility of a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy using an intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy in treating early gastric carcinoma. Materials and Methods: We investigated surgical results and clinicopatholgic characteristics of eight(8) patients with an early gastric carcinoma who underwent a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy at the Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between June 2004 and September 2004. The intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy was performed with a delta-shaped ananstomosis by using only laparoscopic linear staplers (Endocutter 45mm; Ethicon Endosurgery, OH, USA). Results: The operative time was $369.4\pm62.5$ minutes (range $275\∼465$ minutes), and the anastomotic time was 45.1\pm14.4$ minutes (range $32\∼70$ minutes). The anastomotic time was shortened as surgical experience was gained. The number of laparoscopic linear staplers for an operation was $7.1\pm0.6$. The number of lymph nodes harvested was $31.9\pm13.1$. There was 1 case of transfusion and no case of conversion to an open procedure. The time to the first flatus was 2.8$\pm$0.5 days, and the time to the first food intake was $4.1\pm0.8$ days. There were no early postoperative complications, and the postoperative hospital stay was $10.0\pm3.9$ days. Conclusion: A totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy using an intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy with a delta-shaped anastomosis is technically feasible and can maximize the benefit of laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.90-98
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• 2018

Purpose: We evaluated the learning curve and short-term surgical outcomes of robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) performed by a single surgeon experienced in open, but not laparoscopic, gastrectomy. We aimed to verify the feasibility of performing RADG without extensive laparoscopic experience. Materials and Methods: Between July 2012 and December 2016, 60 RADG procedures were performed by a single surgeon using the da $Vinci^{(R)}$ Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical). Patient characteristics, the length of the learning curve, surgical parameters, and short-term postoperative outcomes were analyzed and compared before and after the learning curve had been overcome. Results: The duration of surgery rapidly decreased from the first to the fourth case; after 25 procedures, the duration of surgery was stabilized, suggesting that the learning curve had been overcome. Cases were divided into 2 groups: 25 cases before the learning curve had been overcome (early cases) and 35 later cases. The mean duration of surgery was 420.8 minutes for the initial cases and 281.7 minutes for the later cases (P<0.001). The console time was significantly shorter during the later cases (168.6 minutes) than during the early cases (247.1 minutes) (P<0.001). Although the volume of blood loss during surgery declined over time, there was no significant difference between the early and later cases. No other postoperative outcomes differed between the 2 groups. Pathology reports revealed the presence of mucosal invasion in 58 patients and submucosal invasion in 2 patients. Conclusions: RADG can be performed safely with acceptable surgical outcomes by experts in open gastrectomy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2021

Purpose: With advances in surgical techniques, reduced-port laparoscopic surgery is increasingly being performed for the treatment of gastric carcinoma. Many studies have reported satisfactory short-term outcomes after reduced 3-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG). The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term oncological outcomes of 3-port LG in patients with gastric carcinoma. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 1,117 patients who underwent LG for gastric carcinoma in three major institutions between 2012 and 2015. The data showed that 460 patients underwent 3-port LG without assistance, and 657 underwent conventional 5-port LG. We compared the overall and disease-free survival rates between the 2 groups. Results: There were 642 male and 475 female patients with a mean age of 56.1 years. Among them, 1,028 (92.0%) underwent distal gastrectomy and 89 (8.0%) underwent total gastrectomy. In the final pathologic examination, 1,027 patients (91.9%) were stage I, 73 (6.5%) were stage II, and 17 (1.5%) were stage III, and there were no significant difference in the pathologic stage between groups. The 3- and 5-port LG groups showed no significant differences in the 5-year overall survival (94.3% vs. 96.7%, P=0.138) or disease-free survival (94.3% vs. 95.9%, P=0.231). Stratified analyses according to pT and pN stages also showed no significant differences in overall or disease-free survival between the two groups. Conclusions: Long-term survival after 3- and 5-port LG was comparable in patients with early-stage gastric carcinoma. The 3-port technique requiring limited surgical assistance may be an appropriate surgical option for this patient population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4327-4333
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• 2016

Purpose: To systematically review efficacyand safety of robotic gastrectomy (RG) compared with conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for gastric carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, WanFang, VIP and other sources like relevant references to obtain comparative studies assessing the effectiveness and safety between RG and LG published between 2013 and 2016. Then the literature was screened and the data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. The quality of the literature was assessed, and the data analyzed using Stata/SE 14 software. Fixed effects or random effects models wereapplied according to heterogeneity. Results: A total of 12 non-randomized observational clinical studies involving 3,580 patients were included, of which 1,096 had undergone RG and 2,484 had received LG. The results of the meta-analysis showed in terms of effectiveness, RG was associated with less blood loss, less time to first flatus and greater number of harvested lymph nodes, but there were no significant differences in proximal and distal resection margins, compared with LG. In terms of efficiency, RG was associated with shorter hospital stay, but longer operative time. In terms of safety, there were no statistically significant differences in complications, mortality and conversions between RG and LG. Conclusions: RG can achieve comparable or better short-term and radical effects than LG, with respect to effectiveness, efficiency and safety in treatment of gastric carcinoma. Future studies involving RG should focus on decreasing operative time and reducing cost. Moreover, there is a need for randomized controlled trials comparing the two techniques with long-term follow-up.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the oncologic and short-term outcomes of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) and open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Materials and Methods: From July 2006 to November 2016, 384 patients underwent distal gastrectomy for AGC. Data on short- and long-term outcomes were prospectively collected and reviewed. Propensity score matching was applied at a ratio of 1:1 to compare the LDG and ODG groups. Results: The operative times were longer for the LDG group than for the ODG group. However, the time to resumption of diet and the length of hospital stay were shorter in the LDG group than in the ODG group (4.7 vs. 5.6 days, P=0.049 and 9.6 vs. 11.5 days, P=0.035, respectively). The extent of lymph node dissection in the LDG group was more limited than in the ODG group (P=0.002), although there was no difference in the number of retrieved lymph nodes between the 2 groups. The 3-year overall survival rates were 98% and 86.9% (P=0.018), and the 3-year recurrence-free survival rates were 86.3% and 75.3% (P=0.259), respectively, in the LDG and ODG groups. Conclusions: LDG is safe and feasible for AGC, with earlier recovery after surgery and longterm oncologic outcomes comparable to those of ODG.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.38-48
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• 2021

Purpose: As the number of gastric cancer survivors is increasing and their quality of life after surgery is being emphasized, single-port surgery is emerging as an alternative to conventional gastrectomy. A novel multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF) articulating device, the ArtiSential® device (LivsMed, Seongnam, Korea), was designed to allow more intuitive and meticulous control for surgeons facing ergonomic difficulties with conventional tools. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of this new device during single-port laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (SP-LDG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) patients. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients diagnosed with EGC who underwent SP-LDG with ArtiSential® (LivsMed) graspers between April 2018 and August 2020 were enrolled in the study. The clinical outcomes were compared with those of a control group, in which prebent graspers (Olympus Medical Systems Corp) were used for the same procedures. Results: Seventeen patients were enrolled in the ArtiSential® group. There was no significant difference in operative time (205.4±6.0 vs. 218.1±9.9 minutes, P= 0.270) or the quality of surgery, in terms of the number of retrieved lymph nodes (49.5±3.5 vs. 45.9±4.0, P=0.473), length of hospital stay (15.4±2.0 vs. 12.4±1.3 days, P=0.588), and postoperative complications (40.0% vs. 41.2%, P=0.595), between the ArtiSential® group and the control group. Conclusions: The new multi-DOF articulating grasper is feasible and can be used as an alternative for prebent graspers during SP-LDG.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.132-137
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• 2019

The occurrence of hiatal hernia after total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction is rare. We report the case of a 76-year-old man who presented with dyspnea, vomiting, and fever around 8 days after total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a hiatal hernia containing part of the small intestine in the left thoracic cavity. Emergent reduction and repair of the hiatal hernia were performed later. Operative findings revealed that the Roux limb was incarcerated in the left pleural cavity. Esophagojejunostomy leakage, perforation of the small intestine with transient ischemic change, and pyothorax were also found. Thus, feeding jejunostomy, thoracoscopic decortication, and diversion T-tube esophagostomy were performed. Considering that the main cause of hiatal hernia is blunt dissection with division of the phrenoesophageal membrane, approximating the crus with 1 or 2 figure-8 sutures, according to the size of the defect, to prevent the incidence of hiatal hernia after total gastrectomy may be performed.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.128-129
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• 2016

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.159-170
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• 2023

Maintaining the postoperative quality of life (QOL) while ensuring curability without overtreatment is important in the treatment of early gastric cancer. Postoperative QOL is anticipated to be maintained through minimally invasive function-preserving gastrectomy in early gastric cancer. The concept of the sentinel lymph node (SN) basin is essential to maintain the curability of early gastric cancer using minimally invasive function-preserving gastrectomy. However, additional resection after surgery is difficult to perform in gastric cancer. Thus, the SN basin theory is important. Recently, a multicenter randomized phase III trial in South Korea (SENORITA trial) proved that laparoscopic sentinel node navigation surgery (LSNNS) for stomach preservation results in better postoperative QOL compared with standard gastrectomy in patients with early gastric cancer. LSNNS contributes to patients' QOL based on the concept that curability is not impaired. A multicenter nonrandomized phase III trial is ongoing in Japan, and oncologic safety is expected to be demonstrated. LSNNS has been established as a treatment option for selected patients with early gastric cancer, and its application will become widespread in the future.