Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer: traps and strategies

Surgeries remain the mainstream treatment for gastric cancer. Early in 1991, Kitano et al. conducted the first laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy for treating early gastric cancer. In the past two decades, the surgical techniques have become more mature, along with increased surgical indications and lower incidences of surgery-related complications. However, due to the rich blood supply, multiple anatomic levels, complex lymph node dissection, and special requirements of the laparoscopy itself, this surgery is quite difficult and has high technical requirements. During the laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, it is equally important to achieve the complete resection of the tumor and to ensure the surgical safety. As the laparoscopic radical gastrectomy has increasingly been applied, it has become a priority to pay special attention to the safety of this surgical technique, so as to avoid the occurence of severe complications. Based on literature review and clinical experiences, we elucidate the challenges and strategies of laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.