Enhanced recovery after surgery with laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for stomach carcinomas

AIM: To study the efficacy of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for stomach carcinomas. METHODS: From June 2010 to December 2012, 61 gastric cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy at First Hospital of Jilin University were enrolled in this randomized controlled trial. (Clinical Trials. gov, registration ID:NCT01955096). The subjects were divided into the ERAS program group and the conventional control group. The clinical characteristics, recovery variables, and complications of patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The time to first ambulation, oral food intake, and time to defecation were significantly shorter in the ERAS group (n = 30), compared to the conventional group (n = 31; P = 0.04, 0.003, and 0.01, respectively). The postoperative hospital stay was less in the ERAS group (6.8 +/- 1.1 d) compared to the conventional group (7.7 +/- 1.1 d) (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference in postoperative complications between the ERAS (1/30) and conventional care groups (2/31) (P = 1.00). There were no readmissions or mortality during the 30-d follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The ERAS program is associated with a shorter hospital stay in gastric cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. The ERAS protocol is useful in the treatment of gastric cancer.