Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer with simultaneous resection of para-aortic schwannoma.

An asymptomatic 74-year-old man was diagnosed with early gastric cancer during screening. Preoperative CT revealed a 25-mm tumor surrounded by the abdominal aorta, inferior vena cava, and left renal vein. Based on the primary tumor stage, para-aortic lymph node metastasis was considered to be unlikely but could not be ruled out. For this reason, we planned a concurrent diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopic resection with gastrectomy. The gastric cancer and para-aortic tumor were successfully resected laparoscopically. The tumor was diagnosed as a schwannoma. With care and skill, we were able to resect the para-aortic schwannoma and gastric cancer simultaneously and safely by using laparoscopic techniques.