Laparoscopic D2 dissection for locally advanced gastric cancer in China

Minimally invasive surgery has become one of the most important concepts during the development of surgery in the 21st century, among which the laparoscopic technique represents a major advancement in this field. Since Kitano et al. first performed laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer in 1991 (1), the laparoscopic surgeries for gastric cancer have rapidly developed in the past two decades and became widely applied worldwide. Some published clinical trials have confirmed that, in addition to minimal invasiveness, the laparoscopic surgeries are also equally effective in treating early or locally advanced tumors as the open procedures (2-4).