Delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy after totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: comparative study of original and modified methods.

Background: Delta-shaped anastomosis (DA) has been widely accepted as a standard procedure for intracorporeal Billroth-I reconstruction after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy. We introduced DA in 2010 at our hospital and later developed a modified DA method in which a stapled corner of the duodenal stump was removed simultaneously with closure of an entry hole to reduce postoperative complications.

Methods: The clinical data of 507 patients undergoing laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with DA from October 2010 through December 2018 were retrospectively collected from our in-house database. On the basis of the reviewed data, patients were divided into two groups: the original DA group (org-DA, n = 392) and the modified DA group (mod-DA, n = 115). Surgical outcomes, postoperative nutritional parameters, and endoscopic findings 1 year after surgery were compared between the two groups.

Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. Anastomotic stricture occurred in three patients (0.8%) in the org-DA group and one patient (0.9%) in the mod-DA group (P = 0.911). Anastomotic leakage was recorded in five patients (1.3%) in the org-DA group and none of the patients (0%) in the mod-DA group (P = 0.593). One year after surgery, the change in body weight in the org-DA group/mod-DA group was - 8.1%/- 7.0% (P = 0.285), and the change in hemoglobin level was - 5.0%/- 3.9% (P = 0.012). Endoscopic examination at the 1-year follow-up in the mod-DA group showed smaller amounts of food residue (P = 0.008) as well as less residual gastritis (P < 0.001) than in the org-DA group.

Conclusions: The modified DA method can be performed safely with a complication rate comparable with the original DA method. Furthermore, better postoperative function is expected because of its more natural anatomy and physiology resulting from the modified method.