Clinical Outcomes of Laparoscopic Proximal Gastrectomy With Double-Flap Reconstruction for Tumors in the Upper Third of the Stomach.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy (LPG) has been a standard surgery for early gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach and large esophagogastric junction gastrointestinal stromal tumor. However, how to reconstruct the stomach after LPG is still debated. This study aimed to evaluate the results of LPG with double-flap reconstruction. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed with 14 patients undergoing LPG with double-flap reconstruction for early gastric cancer or large tumors in the upper third of the stomach from 2018 to 2021. We evaluated postoperative complications, gastroesophageal reflux and the gastric remnant's function using endoscopy in accordance with the Los Angeles and Residue-Gastritis-Bile classifications, and patients' quality of life by the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) questionnaire. RESULTS: Median age was 54 years and 10 patients were male. There were 7 patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor, 4 with leiomyoma and 3 with early-stage adenocarcinoma. No patient had major complications or required conversion to open surgery. During a median follow-up period of 24.6 months, 1 patient had late anastomotic stricture, 2 had metastasis, and 1 died. Endoscopic evaluation at 6 and 12 months showed good function of the gastric remnant in most patients. Patients' quality of life improved over time: mean GSRS score was 26.9±12.6, 20.3±7.2, and 18.8±4.2 at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: LPG with double-flap reconstruction is feasible and safe for early gastric cancer or large tumors in the upper third of the stomach. The long-term functional outcomes and patients' quality of life were acceptable.

Sutureless Closure Versus Conventional Technique in the Primary Surgery of Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Sutureless closure has been used for primary repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) for over 20 years but its superiority over conventional technique is still uncertain. This systematic review was conducted to compare the effectiveness of sutureless closure and conventional surgery as the primary repair for TAPVC. Systematic search was performed in June 2021 on 12 databases. All studies comparing sutureless and conventional surgery for TAPVC were included. The primary endpoints were early mortality, overall mortality, postoperative pulmonary venous stenosis (PVS), and reoperation. Meta-analysis of two-arm studies was performed with several sensitivity and subgroup analyses. Six retrospective studies with 767 patients were included in meta-analyses. Sutureless closure significantly reduced the risk of early mortality, overall mortality, postoperative PVS, and reoperation by 53%, 45%, 77%, and 67% compared to conventional technique, respectively. No heterogeneity was found and presence of publication bias was non-significant. The results were consistent in all sensitivity analyses. Subgroup analyses revealed that sutureless closure was superior to conventional technique in patients with and without preoperative pulmonary venous obstruction, and neonates and non-neonates. Sutureless closure is better than conventional closure as the primary surgery for TAPVC patients. We advocate using sutureless closure for patients with TAPVC. Future large-scale observational studies or clinical trials are required to confirm our findings.