Fast-Track Surgery Could Improve Postoperative Recovery in Patients with Laparoscopy D2 Gastrectomy

The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fast track surgery (FTS) management in gastric cancer (GC) with laparoscopy D2 gastrectomy. FTS is the integration of different medical intervention activities during the perioperative period to accelerate the recovery of patients undergoing surgery. It has been used for colorectal cancer. The present study focuses on evaluating FTS in GC with laparoscopy D2 gastrectomy. Seventy-five patients diagnosed with GC between June 2014 and December 2016 were enrolled in this study and were divided into FTS and conventional care groups. All patients received elective standard D2 gastrectomy. The clinical parameters and serum indicators were compared. FTS was associated with shorter postoperative hospital stay (17.17 ± 9.27 versus 14.06 ± 5.05 days; P = 0.046), shorter time to bowel function return (4.56 ± 1.16 versus 3.12 ± 0.88 days; P < 0.01), less stress response on postoperative day 1 (108.13 ± 40.55 versus 79.01 ± 37.10; P < 0.01), and accelerated decrease in serum albumin (30.76 ± 4.10 versus 32.56 ± 3.20 g/L; P = 0.04) and lymphocyte count (0.78 ± 0.34 versus 0.78 ± 0.34 g/L; P = 0.016). The postoperative complications, including ileus, anastomotic leakage, and infection, were similar (all P > 0.05). FTS combined with laparoscopy D2 gastrectomy can promote faster postoperative recovery, improve early postoperative nutritional status, and more effectively reduce postoperative stress reaction and is safe and effective for GC patients.