Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2015; 21(48): 13507-13517
Published online Dec 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i48.13507
Use of a clinical pathway in laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer
Hee Sung Kim, Sun Oak Kim, Byung Sik Kim
Hee Sung Kim, Byung Sik Kim, Department of Gastric Surgery, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University School of Medicine, Seoul 138-736, South Korea
Sun Oak Kim, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University School of Medicine, Seoul 138-736, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim HS and Kim BS designed and performed the research and wrote the paper; Kim HS collected data; Kim HS and Kim BS followed up with the patients; Kim SO performed the statistical analyses; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to: Byung Sik Kim, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Department of Gastric Surgery, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Seoul 138-736, South Korea. bskim@amc.seoul.kr
Telephone: +82-2-30103491 Fax: +82-2-4749027
Received: July 8, 2015
Revised: September 20, 2015
Accepted: November 24, 2015
Published online: December 28, 2015
Processing time: 168 Days and 15.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Laparoscopic gastrectomy has been proven to enhance postoperative recovery compared to open gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC) patients. Therefore, laparoscopic gastrectomy is thought to be a suitable procedure for a clinical pathway. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of a clinical pathway application for laparoscopic gastrectomy and tried to investigate the clinical factors that may influence a clinical pathway in a high-volume center. Laparoscopic gastrectomy for GC appears to be a good indicator for the application of a clinical pathway. For successful application, patients with risk factors (male, advanced age, total gastrectomy, combined operation, intraoperative events, American Society of Anesthesiologists score) should be managed carefully.