Abstract: Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic and open gastrectomy in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) for gastric cancer. Methods We retrospectively collected the clinicopathological data of gastric cancer patients undergoing radical gastrectomy at 12 Chinese medical centers between January, 2015 and December, 2017. We analyzed the clinical outcomes of a total of 1569 patients, including 552 patients undergoing open surgery, 1004 receiving laparoscopic surgery, and 43 experiencing conversion of laparoscopic surgery to open surgery. The operative outcomes and postoperative complications of the patients in laparoscopic group and open surgery group were analyzed. The primary outcome was the short-term postoperative complications. The secondary outcomes included operation time, estimated blood loss, number of lymph node dissection, time to first liquid diet intake, time to first passage of flatus and defecation, time to ambulation, postoperative hospitalization days and occurrence of readmission within 30 days. Results Of the total of 1569 patients, 1037 (66.1% ) were males and 532 (33.9% ) were females, with a mean age at diagnosis of 58.4±11.3 years. A total of 105 patients (6.7% ) underwent proximal gastrectomy, 877 (55.9% ) underwent distal gastrectomy, and 587 (37.4%) underwent total gastrectomy. In the overall patients, the operation time was 274.7±80.7 mins, blood loss was 150 (20-1300) mL, and the number of lymph nodes dissected was 29.9±13.5. The time to first ambulation, flatus, defecation and liquid food intake were 2.3±1.2, 3.4±1.6, 4.8±1.8 and 5.5±3.1 days, respectively. The postoperative hospital stay was 11.4±5.0 days. The incidence of postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo score ≥II) was 6.5%, and the rate of readmission within 30 days after discharge was 1.1%. Subgroup analysis of the patients based on the surgical approach (conversion of laparoscopic surgery to open surgery was considered open surgery) showed no significant differences in the extent of gastrectomy between laparoscopic and open surgery groups (P>0.05). Compared with those in the open surgery group, the patients having laparoscopic gastrectomy had a greater number of lymph nodes retrieved with earlier ambulation, first flatus, defecation and oral intake and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (P<0.05). The laparoscopic group had a lower intraoperative blood loss but a longer operation time than the open surgery group (P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications did not differ significantly between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with open surgery, laparoscopic surgery in ERAS can shorten the time to ambulation, first flatus, defecation, and oral intake and the length of hospital stay. Laparoscopic surgery can achieve the same oncological outcomes as open surgery without increasing postoperative complications.

Key words: gastric cancer; enhanced recovery after surgery; laparoscopy; complications