Background: Gastric tumors, including early gastric cancers, can be safely removed laparoscopically. They do not require an open laparotomy.
Methods: From March 1995 to December 1998, we used laparoscopy to resect gastric submucosal lesions in 32 patients. There were 22 men and 10 women. The patients ranged in age from 23 to 67 years (median, 51.4 yr). The lesions were located in the upper third in one patient, in the middle third in 20 patients, and in the lower third in 11 patients. The tumors ranged in size from 2 to 6 cm in diameter. The operative procedures were wedge resection in 19 patients, wedge resection with gastrotomy in two patients, intragastric surgery in nine patients, intragastric surgery with gastrotomy in one patient, and proximal gastrectomy in one patient, using a four- or five-port technique. The exophytic mass was resected with an Endo-GIA, and the tumors on the mucosal surface were exposed via a gastrotomy and excised. The gastrotomy was closed with an intracorporeal suture. In all cases, the operation was finished after the confirmation of tumor-free margins on frozen-section biopsy specimens.
Results: The duration of the operation ranged from 80 to 180 mins. The final pathologic findings were leiomyoma in 24 patients, adenomyoma in three patients, hyperplastic polyp in two patients, lipoma in one patient, hamartoma in one patient, and leiomyosarcoma in one patient. One case (3.1%) was converted to a mini-laparotomy due to technical difficulty; in one other case, more margin was resected laparoscopically due to the tumor-positive margin; and in one further patient, leakage was repaired by laparoscopic suturing on the 1st postoperative day. There were no other major complications and no deaths. The hospital stay ranged from 6 to 7 days. The maximum follow-up to date in these patients, including a case of leiomyosarcoma, was 42 months. There has been no evidence of tumor recurrence.
Conclusion: The application of laparoscopy to submucosal tumors of the stomach is technically feasible, safe, and useful. It should be considered a viable alternative to open surgery and gastroscopic management because of its low invasiveness and good postoperative results.