Transumbilical single-incision laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer.

Background Laparoscopic gastrectomy is a widely accepted procedure for treating early gastric cancers. This procedure is less invasive than conventional open approaches, and the oncologic outcomes are comparable. Single-incision laparoscopic surgery, developed to reduce the invasiveness of traditional laparoscopy, is applied to various abdominal surgical procedures. However, its application to laparoscopic gastrectomy for the treatment of gastric cancer has not been reported, mainly because of difficulties achieving adequate lymphadenectomy and reconstruction. The authors report their initial clinical experience with single-incision laparoscopic gastrectomy for early gastric cancer.