Background: Laparoscopy endoscopy cooperative surgery (LECS) for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is an established technique for safe tumor resection, with lesser surgical margin than laparoscopic wedge resection (WR). We report the usefulness of LECS for GIST compared with WR.
Method: Between 2008 and 2012, 8 patients with GIST underwent LECS and 11 patients underwent laparoscopic WR. Intraoperative blood loss, surgical margin, and operation time were compared between LECS and WR.
Results: Patients undergoing LECS had significantly less surgical margin compared with those undergoing WR (mean 5.6mm versus 28.0 mm, p<.05). The difference in operation time between LECS and WR (214 min versus 112min)was also significant. Intraoperative blood loss was very little and not significantly different between both groups.
Conclusion: LECS for GIST was a safe procedure with lesser surgical margins.