Three-dimensional computed tomography simulation for laparoscopic lymph node dissection in the treatment of proximal gastric cancer.

Application of laparoscopic surgery (LS) has expanded worldwide in the various fields due to the potential advantage of being less invasive than open surgery; however difficulty in recognizing positional relationship of the organs is one of the disadvantages of this kind of surgery. In order to compensate this drawback, preoperative three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) simulation is regarded as promising. In gastric cancer surgery, 3D-CT simulation seems particularly effective in the splenic hilar dissection, because this region is associated with remarkable anatomical variation with complexity. As effects from the use of 3D-CT simulation, reduction of blood loss or complication rate, shortening of operation time and enhancement of surgical quality are expected. In this article, we introduce our methodological protocol of 3D-CT simulation in gastric cancer surgery with clinical case examples, and also additionally review previous publications reporting this imaging technology.