Procedures of D2 lymphadenectomy for patients with gastric cancer

Objective To summarize the operative procedures of D2 lymphadenectomy for patients with gastric cancer. Methods 57 patients with gastric cancer who received D2 lymph node dissection were studied retrospectively. Their clinical data including the number of resected lymph nodes, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative complications were collected. Surgical skills for D2 lymph node dissection were summarized. Results All the 57 patients underwent successfully D2 lymph node dissection. In1543 lymph nodes harvested (mean 27.07), 486 (31.5%) were metastatic lymph nodes. Blood loss was 244.7 ml on average and the postoperative complication rate was 22.8%. No lymph node dissection associated complication was found. Conclusion D2 lymph node dissection for patients with gastric cancer is effective if the surgeon is familiar with perigastric anatomy and lymph node excision skills.