Safety and effectiveness of overlap esophagojejunostomy in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer is limited to few expert surgeons, and a reason for this is the technical difficulty of performing esophagojejunostomy laparoscopically. Overlap has acted as a more popular reconstruction method in recent years; however, its clinical outcomes are inconclusive. Thus, this meta-analysis aimed to provide a higher level of evidence to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of overlap esophagojejunostomy in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched up to November 2021 for published English literature on retrospective research, prospective research, and randomized controlled trials of overlap anastomosis versus other anastomoses. Basic information and observation indicators of the included articles were extracted. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used by the same researchers to independently assess the risk of bias in the included randomized controlled trials and evaluate the quality of cohort studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Review Manager 5.3 was used to produce forest plots for meta-analysis, funnel plots were used to assess publication bias, and sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate result stability.

RESULTS

Overall, 1534 patients from 12 studies were included in this study (738 in and 796 in the overlap and non-overlap groups, respectively). Meta-analysis of the inclusion indicators showed a lower incidence of anastomotic stenosis (OR = 0.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.09 to 0.41, P < 0.0001) compared with other anastomosis methods, with significant differences in both groups. However, no significal differences were noted between the two groups with respect to operative time (WMD = 13.79, 95% CI: -5.41 to 32.98, P = 0.16), anastomotic time (WMD = 7.18，95% CI: -5.34 to 19.69, P = 0.26), intraoperative blood loss (WMD = 19.96, 95% CI: -17.80 to 57.72, P = 0.30), number of retrieved lymph nodes (WMD = -1.33, 95% CI: -6.24 to 3.57, P = 0.59), time to first flatus (WMD = -0.11, 95% CI: -0.25 to 0.04, P = 0.14), postoperative hospital stay (WMD = -0.09, 95% CI: -1.59 to 1.41, P = 0.90), anastomotic leak (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.67 to 2.27, P = 0.50), anastomotic bleeding (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.28 to 2.67, P = 0.80), postoperative pulmonary infection (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.34 to 2.57, P = 0.90), and mortality (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 0.27 to 6.48, P = 0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

Overlap esophagojejunostomy is a safe and effective procedure during totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy. It is superior to other types of anastomosis in reducing anastomotic stenosis rates.