With the development of the concept of minimally invasive surgery and the innovation of endoscopic instruments,laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic cancer has continuously made great breakthroughs in China,in which it has achieved similar results in comparison to open surgery in terms of safety and feasibility. However,pancreatic cancer is often accompanied by the infiltration of surrounding tissue and the invasion of peripheral lymph node or blood vessel that significantly increases the difficulty of operation,for which it is still remains controversial in terms of the efficacy of minimally invasive surgery. Therefore,in order to promote the standardization of laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic cancer on the whole,the author put forward some viewpoints from the aspects of selection of operation indication,radical resection of tumor and long-term outcome et al.
Surgical resection is the only potential method to cure pancreatic cancer. In the past 10 years,minimally invasive pancreatic resection(including laparoscopy and robotics)has developed rapidly and made great progress. It has become one of the treatment options of pancreatic cancer in larger pancreatic centers. Although minimally invasive pancreatectomy has shown some advantages in perioperative variables compared with the open approach,there are still controversies on the oncological outcomes. The existing evidence of evidence-based medicine is mainly single center,retrospective research,and most of them enrolled mixed pathological types. Therefore,whether minimally invasive radical resection of pancreatic cancer can bring benefits in oncology efficacy must be answered through high-quality randomized controlled studies. The design and implementation of high-quality clinical research and the strengthening of multi-center cooperation will help to enhance the individualized application of minimally invasive technology in pancreatic cancer resection and enhance China’s international influence in this field.
Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumor of the digestive system. Surgery is the ideal treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer. With advancements in surgical techniques,minimally invasive pancreatic surgery,such as laparoscopic surgery,has been carried out worldwide for nearly 30 years. However,the retroperitoneal location of the pancreas and the complexity of adjacent blood vessels make pancreatic cancer surgery extremely challenging. Clinical studies regarding the safety of laparoscopic pancreatic surgery have been conducted in various populations,with relatively clear conclusions. Precise anatomical dissection of main vessels within the pancreatic surgical field is essential to achieve minimal blood loss during surgery. We reviewed clinical studies of laparoscopic pancreatic surgery to summarize the safety and oncological outcomes of surgical treatments. We also introduce our first-hand experience in vessel management in laparoscopic pancreatic surgery.
In recent years,with the rapid development of metabolic and bariatric surgery in China,more and more hospitals started to establish a metabolic and bariatric surgery team providing treatment to patients,and as a result,the annual number of operations has been increasing sharply. At the same time,it is increasingly important to continuously promote the standardization of clinical practice in this discipline in order to improve clinical quality and outcomes. At this stage,as the fundamental of standardization and continuous quality improvement,systematic training is crucial to the surgeons and case managers who are working in this area. In addition,surgeons need to strictly follow the surgical indications and choose an evidence-based operation to patients. After surgery,long-term follow-up and clinical data management are also important measures to promote the standardization of metabolic and bariatric surgery.
Metabolic and bariatric surgery in China has entered a period of rapid development. In addition to sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass,there are also a variety of surgical procedures emerging in clinical practice,including one anastomotic gastric bypass,biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch,single anastomotic duodenal-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy,duodenojejunal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy,jejunal-jejunal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy,gastrojejunal transit bipartition with sleeve gastrectomy,etc. For surgeons who have not experienced systematic theoretical knowledge and clinical practice training,and who have recently started metabolic and bariatric surgery practice,the choice of surgical procedures often creates confusion. The principle is to identify the surgical methods that are strongly recommended,cautiously recommended,not recommended and investigational. According to surgon’s own capability,team capability,availability of facility and equipment,as well as patients' comorbidities and expectations,the mode of shared decision-making between surgeons and patients should be adopted to objectively select an appropriate surgical procedure.
China has entered a period of rapid development of Bariatric and metabolic surgery. We continue to explore the specialized development of Bariatric and metabolic surgery,standardized surgery training,academic exchanges and scientific research,and more and more voices of Chinese bariatric and metabolic surgery are heard in the international community. How to achieve simultaneous development of quantity and quality is the question that every bariatric and metabolic surgeon should think about.
Standardized clinical data is an important basis for high-quality clinical and fundamental research,a powerful guarantee for improving clinical practice,and a basis for clinical decision-making and medical policy formulation. The construction and management of a standardized clinical database can improve the quality of clinical data. Based on the Greater China Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Database,this paper focuses on the establishment process and practical experience of the clinical database in five aspects:background and purpose,set-up process,quality improvement issues,clinical data protection,and prospects,in the hope of promoting high-quality clinical research and clinical practice in metabolic and bariatric surgery.
Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. In recent years,great progress has been made in the field of liver cancer diagnosis and treatment in China,and some medical centers have ranked among the top HCC centers in the world. However,therapeutic effect of HCC in China is unsatisfactory. The 5-year survival rate of Mainland Chinese patients is only 14.1%,which is significantly lower than the average level in East Asia(Close to 30%). The crux of this lies in the irregularities of prevention,diagnosis and treatment. It is mainly reflected in the lack of cooperation between different departments,uneven distribution of medical resources in different regions,defects in medical quality evaluation system,and insufficient promotion of diagnosis and treatment guideline. It is necessary to promote the standardization of clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC in China by promoting the multi-disciplinary diagnosis and treatment mode in HCC treatment,balancing the distribution of medical resources,improving the medical quality evaluation system and strengthening the promotion of diagnosis and treatment guidelines.
China is a large country of liver cancer in the world,with more than half of the cases of morbidity and death in the world. At present,surgical resection is still the first choice for the treatment of liver cancer. In recent years,with the progress of surgical instruments and the improvement of operational proficiency,surgical resection of liver cancer gradually shows a minimally invasive trend. Laparoscopic liver cancer surgery has been widely recognized for its effectiveness and safety because of its small abdominal incision and rapid postoperative recovery. However,due to the variability and complexity of liver cancer surgery,there are still many contents to be further standardized in the specific clinical application of laparoscopic liver cancer surgery. The problems that should be paid attention to laparoscopic liver cancer surgery include indication selection,process selection,perioperative management and so on. For laparoscopic liver cancer surgery,we must comprehensively consider many factors,such as patients' physical condition,treatment trauma,safety,effectiveness and cost,so as to complete the operating specifications of laparoscopic liver cancer surgery,make the surgery more safe and effective,and maximize the benefits of patients.
Since the laparoscopic liver resection(LLR)had been first published for nearly 30 years,it has gradually developed into one of the standard radical operation for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). In selected patients,LLR has achieved oncological curative effect that is not inferior to open liver resection,and its advantages are increasingly recognized. LLR could be divided into anatomic and non-anatomic liver resection,depending on whether the liver is pre-dissected or blocked from inflow and /or outflow. They have their own scope of application,advantages and disadvantages. How to choose laparoscopic anatomic liver resection or laparoscopic non-anatomic liver resection for HCC remain controversial.Combined with relevant literature and personal experience,this paper briefly discusses the selection and standardization of laparoscopic radical liver resection for HCC.
After nearly 30 years of practice,treatment of colon cancer,especially laparoscopic colon cancer surgery,has become mature. But,the five-year survival rate is still lower than in the West,which is related to the low early detection rate of and the lack of standardized diagnosis and treatment. Secondly,surgeons’s ability and mastery of the guidelines is uneven. They have limited the development of colon cancer diagnosis and treatment in China. Therefore,we should improve the early diagnosis rate,standardize preoperative staging and operation methods,strengthen training and scientific research,which is very important to promote the standardization of clinical diagnosis and treatment for colon cancer surgery in China.
With the development of laparoscopic technology,laparoscopic surgery has been widely used in colon cancer surgery. Its high-resolution field of vision and magnification effect allow the surgeon to perform delicate dissection andmanipulation. After years of practice,laparoscopic surgery has been proved to be safe and effective,and is highly respected by surgical experts. For right colon cancer,there are various lymph node dissection methods and surgical plans such as D2 radical resection,D3 radical resection and CME resection,and various digestive tract reconstruction methods such as end-to-end anastomosis,end-to-side anastomosis and side-to-side anastomosis. it is very important to select appropriate lymph node dissection and digestive tract reconstruction in clinical practice. Also,standardized surgical operation is a crucial guarantee for surgical safety and good prognosis of patients.
The technique of laparoscopic radical resection of right colon cancer in China has become advanced and popularized in 30 years. The development of surgical technology and the renewal of therapy concepts have promoted the laparoscopic radical resection of right colon cancer into the stage of precision medicine.Due to the variability of blood vessels in the right colon cancer and the complicated lymphaticdrainage patterns,the range of lymph node dissection,blood vessel management and surgical approach for patients with right colon cancer differ in patients with different tumor sites and stages. Therefore,in the present paper,several issues about the standardization of laparoscopic right hemi-colectomy for right colon cancer will be discussed based on the literature and author’s experiences.
Total mesocolectomy(CME)and D3 radical surgery are the main surgical treatments for right colon cancer. The surgical methods are relatively uniform,but there are still some controversies between these two methods. At present,the scope of lymph node dissection is mainly controversial between CME and D3 radical resection,including the concept of CME and D3 radical resection,the medial boundary of CME and D3 lymph node dissection,and whether the subpyloric lymph node is routinely dissected. Currently,medial lymph node dissection of CME and D3 is a hot topic. Whether the left side of the superior mesenteric vein is used as the medial boundary of lymph node dissection or the left side of the superior mesenteric artery is used as the medial boundary of lymph node dissection,a unified standard has not been formed yet,which needs to be further confirmed by large-sample prospective multicenter clinical studies. The author reviewed the research status at home and abroad,combined with the practical experience of our center,and discussed the controversy of the scope of lymph node dissection in laparoscopic radical resection of right colon cancer.
This is the first report about Ligation-free radical resection of colon cancer in hepatic flexure with priority dissection of No. 206 and No. 204 lymph nodes. Firstly,LigaSure(LF1937)forceps was used to peel off the right gastroepiploic mesentery with the right hemi-colon and its mesentery from the cranial side to the caudal side,and to expose the right Toldt's fascia plane. Therefore,the anterior fascial plane of the pancreatico-duodenum and the confluence of the Henle trunk into the superior mesenteric vein are revealed clearly. Secondly,the membrane bridge on the surface of the ileo-mesocolon was incised along the infravascular fossa of the ileocolon. The fascial space was extended between the dorsal layer of the right mesocolon and the right Toldt’s fascia,then converged the cranial side of the Toldt’s fascial space. The right mesocolon was peeled off at the right edge of the superior mesenteric artery,and the breakwater technique of LigaSure(LF1937)was applied to coagulate and transect vessels as followed:the ileocolic vessels,the right colic vessels,and the middle colic vessels. Meanwhile,the No.203,No.213 and No.223 groups of lymph nodes are dissected sequentially.
Compared with laparotomy,laparoscopic and robotic assistant surgery for pancreatic cancer has the advantages of less bleeding and faster postoperative recovery,and oncology evaluation remains to be confirmed by high level clinical studies. The mature operation techniques and optimized surgical procedures are the basic elements for the high-quality pancreaticoduodenectomy and pancreaticobody tail combined splenectomy. During the operation,high-definition surgical equipment,detaching and closing instruments should be reasonably used,R0 resection and standard lymphatic and nerve dissection should be carried out in accordance with no-touch,en-bloc and other principles. The reconstruction of digestive tract,such as pancreaticoenterostomy,was performed with high quality according to the quality of pancreas,technical conditions and surgeon’s skill.
In recent years,laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic cancer has developed rapidly in China,but there are problems such as unbalanced development among different regions and unstandardized operations. We should strictly grasp the surgical indications according to the learning curve,the hardware conditions of the institution,the patient’s own situation,the experience of the surgeon,and the team cooperation. At the same time,the principles for treatment of malignant tumor should be followed,and the reasonable scope of surgery should be determined for the purpose of radical treatment. The size of the lesion,the location and the relationship with the surrounding blood vessels should also be considered comprehensively,and an appropriate surgical approach should be adopted. With the improvement of standardization,laparoscopic pancreatic cancer surgery will bring more benefits to patients.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most malignant tumors with poor prognosis,which usually accompanies with regional lymph node and distant metastasis in early stage. The five-year survival rate is less than 6%,and the primary route of metastasis is lymph node metastasis. Lymph node metastasis is the key point of factors resulting in poor prognosis. How to figure out this problem,which has been the hotpot and difficulty in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. At present,the standard lymph node dissection has been recognized. However,the clinical application of extended Lymphadenectomy remains controversial. Based on the 13 years clinical data from our department,we demonstrated that pancreaticoduodenectomy with extended lymphadenectomy contributes to remove residual tumor tissue and positive lymph nodes with metastasis,reduce recurrence,delay progression and improve the overall survival time.
Gastric cancer is a common gastrointestinal tumor in China,and surgical treatment is still the cornerstone of the radical treatment of gastric cancer. Based on the practice and high quality evidence in China,Japan,South Korea,Europe and the United States,the surgical strategy of radical gastrectomy,standardlymph node dissection and digestive tract reconstruction has been established. Based on the radical and safety of gastric cancer surgery,more attention should be paid to long-term quality of life. Recently,some progress has been made in the aspects of esophagogastric junctionadenocarcinoma,function-preserving gastrectomyand minimally invasive treatment. Standardized gastrectomy and lymph node dissection,namely,high quality surgery,are important factors to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. According to different stages,only precise and standardized surgical treatment at the appropriate time can maximize the benefit to patients.
In China,the incidence of gastric cancer(GC)is high,the prognosis is poor and the disease burden is serious.Operation is one of the key procedures for comprehensive treatment of GC.Minimally invasive techniques represented by laparoscopy have opened a new era for GC treatment.Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy involves reasonable selection of gastrectomy,lymph node dissection and digestive tract reconstruction.Among them,reconstruction of digestive tract is the hottspot. With the increasingly extensive application of laparoscopic technology,the standardization level and overall quality improvement of laparoscopic radical gastrectomy will significantly be conducive to the maximum benefit of GC patients.