Comparative study of clinical outcomes between laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy (LAPG) and laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) for proximal gastric cancer

Background The choice of surgical strategy for patients with proximal gastric cancer is controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility, safety, and surgical and functional outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy (LAPG) and laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG). Methods Between June 2003 and December 2009, 131 patients with proximal gastric cancer underwent LAPG ( n = 50) or LATG ( n = 81) at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. We reviewed their medical and surgical records from our prospectively collected gastric cancer database. The clinicopathologic characteristics and short-term, long-term, and functional outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Results There were no significant differences in demographics, T-stage, N-stage, or survival between the 2 groups. The LAPG group had a shorter operative time and lower estimated blood loss than the LATG group. The early complication rates after the LAPG and LATG procedures were 24.0 and 17.3 %, respectively ( p = 0.349). The incidence of reflux symptoms was significantly higher in the LAPG group (32.0 vs. 3.7 %, p