Long-Term Outcomes of Pylorus-Preserving Gastrectomy for Early Gastric Cancer

Background: In the short term, pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) has been reported to have advantages over distal gastrectomy (DG) with regard to postprandial symptoms and dumping syndrome. We aimed to evaluate the quality of life after PPG for early gastric cancer in the long term in comparison to that after DG. Methods: Twenty-six patients who underwent gastrectomy (11 PPG, 15 DG) for early gastric cancer at Osaka University Hospital participated and were followed for more than 4 years. Body weight changes, nutritional status, dualphase scintigraphy findings, endoscopic survey results, and questionnaire responses after gastrectomy were examined. Results: There were significantly lower ratios of weight changes in PPG than in DG, 5 years after surgery. There were no differences in the clinicopathological characteristics, nutritional parameters, questionnaire responses, and endoscopic findings between the two groups. Based on gastric scintigraphy, although the gastric emptying of liquids showed similar curves in the two groups, gastric emptying of solids was significantly slower in the PPG group than in the DG group (P =.039). Discussion: PPG had advantages with regard to long-term outcomes over DG in terms of weight maintenance and the prevention of rapid gastric emptying. PPG might be efficient in patients with early gastric cancer.