Comparison of the invasiveness between reduced-port laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy and conventional laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy.

It is unknown whether reduced-port gastrectomy has a less invasive nature than conventional laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (C-LADG). So we compared 30 cases of dual-port laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (DP-LADG; using an umbilical port plus a right flank 5-mm port) as a reduced-port gastrectomy with 30 cases of C-LADG alternately performed by a single surgeon. No significant differences were observed in blood loss, intraoperative complications, the number of dissected lymph nodes, postoperative complications, the day of first defecation, analgesic agents required, changes in body temperature, heart rate, white blood cell count, serum albumin level, or lymphocyte count between the 2 groups. The amounts of oral intake in the DP-LADG group were significantly higher on postoperative days 9 and 10. We concluded that the amount of oral intake in the DP-LADG group was superior to that in the C-LADG group; however, no other evidence of DP-LADG being less invasive than C-LADG was obtained.