Optimal site for fluoroscopic tracer injection for laparoscopic lymphadenectomy

Excerpt

The adequate extent of lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer was a controversial topic when Asian authors tried to show benefits of this approach to their Western peers, as the data came mostly from low evidence-based retrospective series. The first randomized clinical trial conducted in the West failed to show benefits, therefore increasing the controversy [1]. These studies were lately criticized, long-term results reviewed, and new trials came out showing real benefits of lymphadenectomy, making gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy the standard treatment for gastric cancer today [2]. After the value of lymphadenectomy was accepted, authors focused on how perform it better. Both the laparoscopic and the robotic approach proved to be similar to open surgery in the number of harvested lymph nodes, while providing the advantages of minimally invasive operations [3, 4]. …