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OBJECTIVE: To explore the change and feasibility of surgical techniques of laparoscopic transhiatal (TH)-lower mediastinal lymph node dissection (LMLND) for adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) according to Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, and Long-term follow-up (IDEAL) 2a standards. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with AEG who underwent laparoscopic TH-LMLND were prospectively included from April 14, 2020, to March 26, 2021. Clinical and pathological information as well as surgical outcomes were quantitatively analyzed. Semistructured interviews with the surgeon after each operation were qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were included. There were no cases of transition to open surgery, but three cases involved combination with transthoracic surgery. In qualitative analysis, 108 items under three main themes were detected: explosion, dissection, and reconstruction. Revised instruction was subsequently designed according to the change in surgical technique and the cognitive process behind it. Three patients had anastomotic leaks postoperatively, with one classified as Clavien-Dindo IIIa. CONCLUSIONS: The surgical technique of laparoscopic TH-LMLND is stable and feasible; further IDEAL 2b research is warranted.

Objective Infra-pyloric artery (IPA) is an important anatomical landmark in treatment of gastric cancer and is the key vessel for pylorus-preserving gastrectomy and subgroup of infra-pyloric lymph nodes. However, its anatomical variation is not thoroughly understood. Our study aimed to clarify the origination of the IPA. Methods We did this prospective, multicenter, open-label, observational study at gastric surgery departments of 34 hospitals in China. Gastric cancer patients aged 18 years or older and scheduled to undergo elective total or distal gastrectomy were assigned. During the surgery, IPA dissecting and exposing the origination point with photographs or video clips were required. The primary outcome was the origination of the IPA. Analysis of variance, χ2 tests and Fisher's tests were used to analyze the differences between groups. The study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT03071237). Results Between May 8 and July 31, 2017, 429 patients were assigned for the study, and 419 (97.7%) patients had the IPA dissected and recorded through photograph or video and were included in the primary outcome analysis. The median age was 62 years old, and 73.7% were male. Among the patients, 78.5% received laparoscopic surgery. Single IPA origination was identified in 398 (95.0%) patients, including gastroduodenal artery (GDA) in 154 (36.8%) patients, anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery (ASPDA) in 130 (31.0%) patients, and right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) in 114 (27.2%) patients. Fifteen (3.6%) patients were identified with multiple IPA and 6 (1.4%) patients were identified as IPA absence. The differences in the distribution of surgical approach (P=0.003) and geographic area (P=0.030) were statistically significant. No difference was shown in sex, age, gastrectomy type, tumor location, and clinical T, N and M stage. Conclusions Our study found that the IPA originates from GDA, ASPDA and RGEA in similar proportions. Laparoscopic surgery may be more helpful in dissection of the IPA than open surgery.