Abstract:
Introduction. As surgery remains the main treatment option for gastric cancer, the incidence of
postoperative complications following radical gastric resections should become an index which assesses
the surgical outcome. The purposes of this study were to retrospectively analyse all postgastrectomy
complications according to severity using Clavien–Dindo classification and to identify risk factors related
to postoperative complications.
Aim of study. Most studies about complications after gastric cancer surgery have been performed without
consideration of the severity of each complication. Therefore, we aimed to assess this gap in our knowledge
by studying patients with resectable gastric cancer.
Methods and materials. The data of 122 consecutive patients who underwent radical gastric resections
have been collected retrospectively. The postoperative complications were graded according to Clavien-
Dindo classification. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and ANOVA test. A p
value of <0,05 was considered significant.
Results. The incidence of postoperative complications was 82,8%. The numbers of grade I, II, III, IV and
V according to Clavien-Dindo were 25 (18%), 33 (25, 77%), 58 (45,31%), 8 (6,85%) and 6 (4,75%),
respectively. Patient-related variables, like age (p=0,468577), ASA score (p=0,27), sex (p=0,52), TNM
staging (p=0,81), Charlson Comorbidity Index (p=0,65) and operation – related variables, like lymph node
dissection (p=0,131) and the extent of resection (p=0,23), weren’t found as risk factors, whereas multiorgan
resections had an important impact over the postoperative outcome (p=0,0027) and previous abdominal
resections (p=0,05).
Conclusion. Our results show that the postoperative outcome following open gastrectomies is mainly
influenced by the multiorgan resection and previous abdominal resections.
