Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy (LCTG) in patients with remnant gastric cancer.
Methods: Patients who underwent completion total gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer between May 2003 and December 2012 were divided into two groups: an open completion total gastrectomy (OCTG) group and an LCTG group. Clinicopathological data, operative data, and patient survival rates were analyzed.
Results: Thirty-four remnant gastrectomies (17 OCTG and 17 LCTG) were performed. The mean time interval between the prior gastrectomy and the remnant gastrectomy was 17.2 years, and benign disease showed a longer time interval than malignancy (30.9 vs. 8.1 years; p < 0.0001). LCTG required a longer operation time than OCTG (234.4 vs. 170.0 min; p = 0.002); however, there were no significant differences in the estimated blood loss, the number of retrieved lymph nodes, the time to first flatus passage, the length of hospital stay, complication rates, and postoperative analgesia between the two groups. Eight patients (47.1%) required conversion to open surgery during LCTG. The median overall survival was 69.1 months. There was no difference in 5-year survival between the two groups (p = 0.085).
Conclusion: LCTG was technically feasible; however, it showed no definitive clinical advantage over OCTG.