Laparoscopic Treatment of Gastric Subepithelial Tumor: Finding Ways to Manage with Shorter Hospitalization Days

PURPOSE: The standard treatment for gastric subepithelial tumor (SET) is surgical resection, which is primarily performed via laparoscopy. The aims of this study were firstly to evaluate factors influencing morbidity and hospitalization after treatment of gastric SET, and secondly, to figure out the factors how to make shorter hospitalization with equal safety. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 229 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric wedge resection (LGWR) for gastric SET between August 2003 and December 2015. Patients were divided into two groups: the 3 days or less hospitalization group (N=82, group A) and the greater than 3 days hospitalization group (N=147, group B). RESULTS: Median tumor size was 3.0 cm (range, 0.2~13.0 cm) and mean postoperative hospitalization was 4.27±2.15 days. There were 6 complications (2.6%), with no cases of mortality. In group A, tumors were smaller (3.0±1.1 cm vs. 3.6±1.9 cm, p<0.01) and more likely to be located on the greater curvature (28% vs. 15%, p<0.01) compared with group B. The tumor growth pattern (exophytic tumor: 72% in group A vs. 65% in group B, p=0.25) was not different between the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size larger than 5 cm and posterior wall tumor location were risk factors for longer hospital stay. CONCLUSION: We could reduce the hospitalization of patients with gastric SET less than 5cm sized and located on other than the posterior wall within 3days. Those patients could be a candidate for day surgery.