Minimally invasive gastric surgery.

The most common indications for gastric resection remain benign ulcer disease and neoplasm. Surgery for these diseases can be performed safely with laparoscopy. As surgeons adhere to the original tenets of open gastric resections while performing laparoscopic resections, disease outcomes will remain the same with the improved surgical outcomes of less pain, a shorter hospital stay, and a lower incidence of wound complications. Laparoscopic gastric resections can be divided into the more straightforward wedge/tumor resections performed for submucosal tumors or the more formal anatomic gastric resections. This article reviews the tools and techniques for laparoscopic gastric resection.