Comparison of a 2D laparoscopic system for surgical imaging of gastric cancer patients: laparoscopic efficacy and ease of use

Abstract

The most frequently diagnosed cancer in Korea has been gastric cancer. Since then, the laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer has become one of the standard treatments for early gastric cancer in Korea. Most of the hospitals in Korea use a brand laparoscopic system with a relatively high costs. Our study aims to evaluate the clinical applicability of locally made 2D laparoscopic system. A total of 40 patients with gastric cancer were recruited for this study. All surgical procedures and evaluations were done by three surgeons. Each surgeon was asked to score each patient using a set of questionnaire in accordance with the laparoscopic efficacy and ease of use. Image 1 HD rated superior in the categories of color saturation and image brightness. Image quality, focus, image distortion, field of view, direction of view, depth of field, fog prevention, image stability on bleeding, temperature change, manageability and convenience of use were rated similarly for both laparoscopes and showed no significant difference. Fencer-III seems to be a promising alternative to Image 1 HD in performing laparoscopic surgery, and this would economically help the hospitals in rural area to equip the laparoscopic system with much affordable price.