Three United Laparoscopic Surgery for the Treatment of Gastric Cardia Cancer—A Comparative Study with Laparotomy and Laparoscopy-Assisted Surgery

Abstract Background & Aim: Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. We have invented a novel hand-assist device that allows the placement of surgical instruments and the maneuvering of the surgeon's hand, and we have established a new hand-assisted laparoscopic technique called Three United Laparoscopic Surgery (TULS) for laparoscopic dissection of advanced gastric cancer. The present study aimed at exploring the usefulness of TULS in the treatment of advanced gastric cardia cancer. Method: A retrospective study on 100 patients with advanced gastric cardia cancer admitted from January 2014 to June 2015 was done. There were 38 cases of TULS, 30 cases of laparotomy, and 32 cases of laparoscopy-assisted surgery. Statistical comparisons between three treatment groups in operative time, incision length, amount of bleeding, number of lymph nodes dissected, time to flatus after surgery, rate of postoperative complications, hospital stay, and expense were done. Results: For lymph n...