Laparoscopy-assisted Pylorus-vagus Nerve Preserving Gastrectomy in the Treatment of Early Gastric Cancer

During the procedure, the distal part of the stomach is resected, but a pyloric cuff 2-3 cm wide is preserved. The right gastric artery and the infrapyloric artery are preserved to maintain the blood supply to the pyloric cuff. In addition, the hepatic and pyloric branches of the vagal nerves are preserved to maintain pyloric function. The celiac branch of the posterior vagal trunk is sometimes preserved. All regional nodes except the suprapyloric nodes (No. 5) should be dissected as in the standard D2 procedure. However, there are technical challenges associated with completing all of these procedures.The five-year survival rate after PPG with modified D2 lymph node dissection ranges from 95% to 98%. This rate is comparable to the five-year survival rate after gastric resection for EGC, which ranges from 90% to 98%. In terms of oncologic safety, PPG seems reasonably safe for EGC when the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis can be assured