Intraoperative tumor localization using laparoscopic ultrasonography in laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy

Background: During laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy, it is impossible to identify early gastric cancer (EGC) lesions; therefore, a precise localization technique is needed. In this study, we used laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) after endoscopic clipping as a method of localizing EGC and evaluated the effectiveness of this method. Methods: A prospective study of 17 patients who had undergone laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy was performed. Three endoscopic clips were applied just proximal to the tumor during the preoperative endoscopy. The applied clips were detected from the serosal side of the stomach using LUS. The serosal surface of the lesion was marked with dye. Results: In all patients, endoscopic clips were applied proximal to the lesion without complications, and the applied clips were confirmed by plain abdominal radiography. The clips were successfully detected by LUS in all patients. In the resected specimen, the serosal surface, marked with dye, was always just above the clips in the anterior wall or on the anterior wall opposite the clips applied in the posterior wall. The mean detection time was 4.7 min (range, 2-8). With this procedure, two patients underwent total gastrectomy and 15 patients underwent distal subtotal gastrectomy with gastroduodenostomy or gastrojejunostomy. Histological examination confirmed that the resection margins were tumor free in all patients. There was no operative morbidity related to the LUS procedure. Conclusions: Using LUS to detect endoscopic clips is an easy, safe, and accurate method to localize EGC lesions in laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy.