Observation on the efficacy of the "page-turning" method for superior pancreatic border lymph node dissection in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Objective: To introduce the clinical application of "page-turning" superior pancreatic lymph node dissection in laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods: Patients who were confirmed to have adenocarcinoma by preoperative gastroscopy and pathological biopsy, with tumor staging evaluated by imaging as cT1~4aN0~3M0, without neoadjuvant therapy, and without absolute surgical contraindications, underwent laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer with "page-turning" superior pancreatic lymph node dissection. The "page-turning" superior pancreatic lymph node dissection was performed in four steps: (1) Expose the posterior gastric mesentery and dissect No.11p lymph nodes; (2) Expose the left gastric mesentery and dissect No.7, No.8a and No.9 lymph nodes; (3) Expose the right gastric mesentery and dissect No.5 lymph nodes; (4) Expose the left edge of the portal vein and dissect No.12a lymph nodes. Results: From April 2018 to October 2024, 112 patients with gastric cancer underwent laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy with "page-turning" superior pancreatic lymph node dissection, including 21 cases in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 78 cases in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, and 13 cases in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Jilin Provincial People's Hospital. The TNM staging of all patients was as follows: 31 cases in stage Ⅰ, 24 cases in stage Ⅱ, and 57 cases in stage Ⅲ; 62 cases of differentiated adenocarcinoma and 50 cases of undifferentiated adenocarcinoma; the median length of tumors was 3.8 cm. All patients successfully completed the operation without conversion to open surgery, no intraoperative massive hemorrhage or postoperative death. The median total number of lymph nodes dissected in all patients was 32, and the median number of positive lymph nodes was 4.5. The overall postoperative complication rate was 5.4% (6/112), all of which were Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅱ, including pulmonary infection, pleural effusion, and incisional infection, all cured by symptomatic treatment. The median follow-up was 41.8 (2-78) months, with 7 cases lost to follow-up. During the follow-up period, 27 cases (25.7%) had tumor recurrence and 16 cases (15.2%) died. Conclusions: The "page-turning" superior pancreatic lymph node dissection technique is safe and feasible in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.