Comparison of hand-assisted laparoscopic gastrectomy vs. laparoscopy assisted gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background/aims: This study aimed to compare the short and long-term outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic gastrectomy (HALG) to those of laparoscopy assisted gastrectomy (LAG).
Methodology: From June 2009 to October 2011, fifteen pairs of patients with gastric carcinoma who underwent LAG or HALG were included for analysis retrospectively. Overall survival, morbidity and mortality, and operative variables were analyzed.
Results: The characteristics baselines were comparable between two groups. There was no difference in morbidity or mortality between two groups. There were also no significant differences in terms of mean number of harvested lymph nodes, postoperative hospital stay, intraoperative blood lost volume, operation time, reoperation, intraoperative conversion, mean time to first flatus and mean time to liquid diet intake between the two groups. The median survival months for patients were 28.9 and 31.7 in HALG and LAG group respectively, and the estimated 3 year overall survival rates were 73.3% in HALG group and in 80.0% LAG group without any statistic significant (P=0.779).
Conclusions: There was no difference in overall morbidity and mortality, postoperative recovery or overall survival between the HALG group and LAG group. Well-designed randomized controlled trials should be needed to prove the results further.