Intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy using hemi-double-stapling technique after laparoscopic total gastrectomy in gastric cancer patients

PURPOSE: To present the feasibility and safety of Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy using hemi-double-stapling technique after laparoscopic total gastrectomy. METHODS: We reviewed the outcomes from 58 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy. The clinicopathological characteristics including postoperative complications were examined. RESULTS: The mean age and body mass index were 57.3 ± 9.7 years and 23.7 ± 2.6 kg/m(2), respectively. The mean overall total operation was 199.8 ± 57.0 minutes. Intraoperative blood loss was 81.6 ± 56.3 mL and there was no open conversion. The patients' hospital stay was a mean 9.6 ± 2 days. The mean proximal margin of the specimens was 2.7 ± 1.8 cm. There were 3 cases (5.1%) of anastomosis leakage, but all were controlled successfully by endoscopic stent. CONCLUSION: The circular HDST technique is simple and reliable without any significant demerits with respect to safety concerns or difficulty of operation.