Lymph node pick up by separate stations: Option or necessity?

Figure 2 Overall survival according to the number of lymph nodes retrieved in each study group. A: The stomach specimen was immediately formalin-fixed and sent to the pathologist. Patients with < 16 lymph nodes retrieved showed better survival when only 2 stations were dissected; B: Lymph nodes were picked up after surgery and fixed for separate stations. No difference in survival was seen in either group (< 16 or ≥ 16 lymph nodes removed) when > 2 stations were dissected.