Is D2 lymphadenectomy in gastrectomy safe with regard to the skill of the operator?
GROUND/AIMS: D2 gastrectomy has been regarded as an inconvenient procedure with high morbidity and no survival benefit in the West. Recent western studies, however, especially from specialist centers, have shown a survival benefit and the safety of D2 gastrectomy. The aim of this study is to clarify the safety of D2 gastrectomy (defined by the Japanese Research Society for the Study of Gastric Cancer), even if carried out by a junior surgeon, and to show that it is not a particularly difficult or special procedure. METHODS: Patients who underwent a typical distal gastrectomy (DG) with D2 resection (n = 344) and total gastrectomy (TG) with D2 resection (n = 111) were analyzed. The subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the postgraduate year of the operator (group I = the surgeon’s postgraduate experience was less than 5 years; group II = surgeons with more than 5 years and less than 10 years postgraduate experience; group III = surgeons with more than 10 years postgraduate exp
