Impact of surgeon's surgical experience on outcomes after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy in high body mass index patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of surgical experience on laparoscopic distal gastrectomy in high body mass index (BMI) patients. Retrospective data were collected on patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer from July 2002 to December 2014. Patients were divided into a high BMI group (BMI=25 kg/m²) and a low BMI group (BMI<25 kg/m²) and classified into subgroups by surgeon experience. Patient characteristics and surgical outcomes between groups were analyzed and compared. Mean operation time in the high BMI group was longer than the low BMI group (173.0±52.5 vs. 164.2±48.0 min; P=0.009). Subgroup analysis showed longer operation time in the high BMI group than the low BMI group (200.8±49.3 vs. 187.9±45.2 min; P< 0.001) and fewer retrieved lymph nodes (36.3±11.7 vs. 33.0±13.1; P=0.004) in the early surgeon experience period. Patients in the late experience period showed no significant differences in surgical outcomes between the high BMI and low BMI group. High BMI did not influence surgical outcomes of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy after accumulation of surgical experience.