RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: This study presented an innovative technique in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy (TLTG) for overlap esophagojejunostomy (E-J), termed self-pulling and latter transection (SPLT) (overlap SPLT). It evaluated the effectiveness and short-term outcomes of this novel method through a comparative analysis with the established functional end-to-end (FETE) E-J incorporating SPLT. METHODS: From September 2018 to September 2023, this study enrolled 68 patients with gastric cancer who underwent TLTG with overlap SPLT anastomosis and 120 patients who underwent TLTG with FETE SPLT anastomosis. Clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical and postoperative outcomes data for overlap SPLT cases were gathered and retrospectively compared with those from FETE SPLT TLTG to evaluate the effectiveness and clinical safety. RESULTS: The duration of anastomosis for overlap SPLT was 25.3 ± 7.4 minutes, significantly longer than that for the FETE SPLT (18.1 ± 4.0 minutes, P = .031). Perioperatively, 1 anastomosis-related complication occurred in each group, but this did not constitute a statistically significant difference (P = .682). No statistically significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of operative time, postoperative hospital stay, operative cost, surgical margins, or number of lymph nodes removed. Postoperative morbidity rates were similar between the groups (4.4% vs 5.8%, P = .676). CONCLUSION: The overlap SPLT technique is regarded as a safe and feasible method for anastomosis. There were no apparent differences in complications between overlap SPLT and FETE SPLT, but overlap SPLT costed 1 additional stapler cartridge and required a longer duration.