Potential benefits of laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy for cT1 upper-third gastric cancer

Background Few reports have compared laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy (LAPG) with laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) in patients with cT1N0 gastric cancer. This study assessed the safety and feasibility of LAPG with esophagogastrostomy in these patients and compared postgastrectomy disturbances and nutritional status following LAPG and LATG. Methods This study compared 40 patients who underwent LAPG with esophagogastrostomy and 59 who underwent LATG with esophagojejunostomy, both with OrVil™. Surgical outcomes, postoperative complications, nutritional status at 1 and 2 years, and relapse-free survival were compared in these two groups. Results Operation time was significantly shorter in the LAPG group than in the LATG group (280 min vs. 365 min, P