Complications and short - term results of laparoscopic gastrectomy for cancer

In recent years, due to the development of newly designed operative techniques and the introduction of better technological devices for laparoscopic surgery , together with the undoubted improvement of surgical skills, several surgeons have started applying laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for gastric cancer. To date, in literature there are several studies which demonstrate both the feasibility of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in terms of oncological radicality as well as the absence of differences in the complication rate and short-term results between laparoscopic and open surgery for Early Gastric Cancer (EGC). Laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) has been therefore increasingly used for EGC and T1-T2 tumors, but to date it has not reached a sufficient grade of recommendation as regards advanced gastric cancer (AGC), even if it is to be considered as a promising oncological procedure with adequate lymph node harvesting. With the purpose of reaching a solid evidence-based validation, different prospective studies comparing the short- and long-term outcome are currently in progress to endorse the appropriateness and safety of laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy for patients with advanced gastric cancer.