Factors for postoperative gallstone occurrence in patients with gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate risk factors for gallstones after gastrectomy. METHODS To identify documents published from 1990 to 2011 the Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Springer Link, CBM and WanFang databases were searched and a meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.2 software for odds ratios and 95%CIs. RESULTS Fifteen studies were selected for the meta-analysis. The pooled ORs [95%CIs] were 0.56 [0.43, 0.73], (P<0.0001) for digestive tract reconstruction, 0.80 [0.54, 1.17], (P=0.25) for pylorus preservation, 0.33[0.15, 0.75], (P=0.008) for resection scope of stomach, 0.33 [0.15, 0.75], (P=0.008) for lymphadenectomy, and 0.13 [0.05, 0.33], (P<0.0001) for vagotomy. CONCLUSIONS Digestive tract physical reconstruction and vagus nerve preservation can reduce the morbidity of gallstones after gastrectomy. Total gastrectomy can add to the morbidity of galltones as does increasing the degree of lymph node dissection. There was no significant difference in gallstones with or without pylorus preservation.