The Shortest Distance from the Skin to Pancreas and the Lower Sternum Angle can Influence Short-Term Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopy-Assisted Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Abstract Background The surgery of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy + D2 lymph node dissection (LADG) is widely used in patients with gastric cancer, the purpose of the study is to explore the effect of abdominal shape on short-term surgical outcomes.Methods This was a retrospective study which included 316 patients undergoing LADG from January 2013 to June 2019 at a single clinical center. The abdominal parameters including the shortest distance of the pancreas from the anterior abdominal skin (PAAD), the lower sternum angle (LSA), the thickness of subcutaneous fat at the navel level (SFT), the anteroposterior diameters (APD) and left-right diameters(LRD) at the navel level, the distance from xiphoid process to the navel (XND), and the distance from xiphoid process to the pubis (XBD) were calculated by preoperative abdominal computed tomography (CT) image. The parameters and short-term surgical outcomes were analyzed.Results In males, the number of retrieved lymph nodes was significantly higher in patients with BMI <25kg/m2 (p=0.023) and APD <176.2mm (p=0.004). The time of operation was significantly shorter in male patients with BMI <25kg/m2(p=0.001), PAAD <64.6mm(p=0.000), SFT <14.9mm(p=0.017), APD <176.2mm(p=0.002) and LRD <290.0mm(p=0.036), and in female patients with XBD >370.0mm(p=0.042). The estimated blood loss was significantly lower in male patients with LSA <83.8° (p=0.009), PAAD <64.6mm(p=0.001), SFT <14.9mm(p=0.001), APD <176.2mm(p=0.009) and LRD <290.0mm(p=0.011). The complications were fewer in male patients with PAAD <64.6mm(p=0.045) and APD <176.2mm(p=0.011), and in female patients with LRD <288.5mm(p=0.047).Conclusion Various abdominal shapes can influence the difficulty of LADG. Lower LSA and PAAD can reduce the difficulty of LADG in male patients.