ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze postoperative morbidity and mortality after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma and identify main risk factors influencing mortality.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 1142 patients with gastric cancer received gastrectomy between January 1989 and April 2004. The patients were divided into three groups according to different period, the first group (n=405): from January 1989 to January 1994; the second group (n=377): from February 1994 to January 1999; the third group (n=360): from February 1999 to March 2004. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were compared among three groups, the risk factors influencing postoperative mortality were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total postoperative morbidity and mortality for all patients were 11.2% (128/1142) and 3.6% (41/1142), respectively. The postoperative morbidity was 13.1%, 10.1%, and 10.3% in the first, second, and third group respectively, there was no significant difference in morbidity among the three groups (P > 0.05). The postoperative mortality was 4.7%, 3.4%, and 2.5% respectively (P > 0.05), there was no significant difference in mortality among the three groups (P > 0.05). The most common postoperative complication was anastomotic leakage (24.2%, 31/128). The following clinicopathologic factors were found to be correlated with postoperative mortality: stage IV; palliative excision; multivisceral resection; and preoperative complications (P< 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that the extent of lymph node dissection or surgical procedure were not main risk factors influencing mortality.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Patients with advanced gastric cancer have a high risk of postoperative mortality. Unnecessary lymph node dissection or multivisceral resection should be avoided for patients with stage IV gastric cancer.</p>