Endoscopic Full-thickness Resection for Gastric Tumor

ABSTRACT

Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is a natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) that was developed to overcome the limitations of laparoscopic resection and conventional endoscopic resection methods (endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection). EFTR can be performed with endoscopy only or combined with a laparoscopic approach. During EFTR, the lesions can be exposed to peritoneum or not. Laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery (LECS) is a well-known procedure in which the lesion is exposed to peritoneum. Non-exposed endoscopic wall-inversion surgery (NEWS) and simple non-exposure EFTR were developed to escape the exposure of the lesions to peritoneum. Submucosal tunneling method may be a good candidate for treatment of subepithelial tumors at the esophagogasric junction and gastric cardia. This review will give an overview about current EFTR techniques to treat subepithelial tumors and adenocarcinoma of stomach.