[Laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer].

We have successfully treated 40 patients with early gastric cancer by using two different laparoscopic procedures since March 1992, which are laparoscopic wedge resection of the stomach using a lesion-lifting method (n = 25) and laparoscopic intragastric mucosal resection (n = 15). The indication is as follows; 1) mucosal cancer, 2) < 25 mm, if the lesion is protruded type, 3) < 15 mm and U1 (-), if the lesion is depressive type. All patients were discharged within 4-8 days uneventfully. The resected specimens were 66 +/- 16 mm and 48 +/- 8 mm in diameter respectively, and had a sufficient surgical margin horizontally (16 +/- 5 mm, 8 +/- 4 mm) and vertically. Histology revealed they were all curative surgeries except one case in whom an additional gastrectomy with lymph node dissection by laparotomy was required one month after surgery because lymphatic invasion had been revealed by pathology. In conclusion, these laparoscopic procedures are curative and minimally invasive treatment for early gastric cancer.