Analysis of clinicopathological features and risk factors for postoperative complications in the elderly gastric cancer patients / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinicopathological features and postoperative short-term complications in the elderly gastric cancer patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 270 elderly patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy in Department of Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between July 2012 and June 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Among 270 patients, 220 were 70 to 79 years old( old group) and 50 were ≥80 years old(oldest group). The clinicopathological features were compared between the two groups. Perioperative factors were analyzed to determine if they are associated with postoperative complications. Multivariate logistic regression model was performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before operation, most elderly patients (n=161, 59.6%) had 2 or more than 2 comorbidities, including hypertension (n=154, 57.0%), anaemia (n=126, 46.7%), diabetes (n=53, 19.6%), arhythmia (n=52, 19.3%), cardiovascular disease(n=33, 12.2%), and chronic pulmonary disease(n=28, 10.4%). Elderly gastric cancers were more likely to locate at the lower third of the stomach (n=116, 43.0%). The pathological type was mainly the poorly differentiated carcinoma (n=152, 56.3%), and stage III was more common in TNM staging(n=138, 51.1%). As compared to the old group, the oldest group had more preoperative comorbid diseases(P=0.048), more previous surgery(P=0.029), more preoperative transfusion (P=0.019), more combined cholecystectomy (P=0.007) and feeding jejunostomy (P=0.037), but less tumor invasion of nerves(P=0.045). No significant differences in other clinicopathological parameters were found between the two groups (all P>0.05). A total of 121 (44.8%) patients presented postoperative complications, including severe complication in 30 cases(11.1%) and death in 4 cases(1.5%). Forty-seven patients(17.4%) presented operation-associated complications, including infection in 28 cases(10.4%) and leakage in 21 cases(7.8%). One hundred and seven(39.6%) patients presented non-operation-associated complications, including pneumonia in 48 cases(17.8%), hypertension in 23 cases(8.5%), and arhythmia in 17 cases(6.3%). Postoperative morbidities of Clavien-Dindo class II complication and non-operation-associated complication were higher in the oldest group compared with old group(P<0.05), while other postoperative complications were compared between the two groups, only urinary tract infection was significantly different(P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that postoperative complications were significantly associated with age(χ(2)=7.308, P=0.007), number of comorbid diseases (χ(2)=10.872, P=0.001), cardiovascular disease (χ(2)=9.412, P=0.002), hypertension (χ(2)=4.934, P=0.026) and preoperative transfusion (χ(2)=3.911, P=0.048). Multivariate analysis showed that only the number of comorbid diseases was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications(OR=2.810, 95% CI: 1.710 to 4.616, P=0.000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Non-operation-associated postoperative complications are more likely to occur in the elderly patients due to more comorbid diseases. Perioperative intensive care should be carried out for the elderly gastric cancer patients with comorbid diseases in order to improve surgical safety and efficacy.</p>

Feasibility of delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the feasibility of delta-shaped (DS) gastroduodenostomy in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From July 2013 to November 2013, 22 gastric cancer patients underwent DS gastroduodenostomy using laparoscopic linear stapler. All the patients underwent TLDG with D2 lymphadenectomy. In addition, modified DS anastomosis (when closing the common entry hole, previous duodenal staple line was also removed) was used in selected patients. Clinical data of these 22 patients were retrospectively analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients underwent TLDG with D2 lymphadenectomy and DS gastroduodenostomy. Among them, 12 patients underwent modified DS anastomosis. The total operative time was (194.6±38.4) min, and the DS anastomosis time was (19.1±14.1) min. The number of linear stapler cartridges used per patient was 5.8±0.8. The intraoperative blood loss was (49.5±24.0) ml. The number of lymph nodes harvested per patient was 32.8±12.4. All the patients achieved microscopic cancer-free resection margin. The time to the first postoperative flatus, first water intake, and semi-liquid diet was (2.9±0.7) d, (4.8±1.1) d, and (6.6±1.2) d, respectively. The duration of postoperative hospital stay was (10.1±2.3) d. The postoperative complication rate was 9.1% (2/22). No patients developed anastomosis-related complications including anastomotic leakage, stenosis, or bleeding.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy is simple, easy, safe, and feasible. It will be an ideal choice for reconstruction after totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, and has great value in clinical practice.</p>