Esophagogastrostomy with fundoplication versus double-tract reconstruction after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

346 Background: Upper-third gastric cancer has been increasing in incidence worldwide and performance of laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy has become increasing common. Various reconstructive procedures after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy have been reported, but the optimal reconstructive procedure is unclear. Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 53 consecutive patients with early gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach who received laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy at our hospital between September 2013 and November 2019. Of these 53 patients, 39 underwent esophagogastrostomy with fundoplication. In the 14 patients requiring resection of the abdominal esophagus or where the size of the remnant stomach was 50% or less, we performed double-tract reconstruction. We compared the surgical and nutritional outcomes of patients who underwent esophagogastrostomy or double-tract reconstruction after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding blood loss, incidence of postoperative complications, occurrence of gastroesophageal reflux disease, food intake, reflux symptoms, or usage of proton pump inhibitors. There was no significant difference in the rate of body weight change at 6 or 12 months, or in biochemical markers (hemoglobin, total protein and albumin) at 12 months. However, eight patients (21%) in the esophagogastrostomy group had extreme body weight loss (≥20%) within 12 months. Conversely, in the double-tract reconstruction group, no patients had any extreme body weight loss ( P = 0.013). Conclusions: Double-tract reconstruction is useful after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy, especially in terms of preventing extreme body weight loss.