The stomach is the organ that plays the most important role in our food intake. Food is ingested through the esophagus and stored there for a certain period of time, mixes it with gastric acid, makes it good for absorption, and sends it down to the duodenum. The wall of the stomach consists of 4 layers, the innermost mucosal layer, followed by the submucosal layer, the muscular layer, and the serous layer.

In general, gastric cancer refers to adenocarcinoma (cancer generated from glandular cells that secretes gastric juice, etc.), which accounts for 95% of gastric malignancies and develops in the innermost mucous membrane and grows out of the stomach wall. If you look at the stomach wall with an endoscope, you can see gastric cancer that begins to grow from the inside. Early gastric cancer is very different from advanced gastric cancer in postoperative progression and subsequent treatment methods. Because it is detected early, cancerous tissue is highly likely to stay in only one location, and even if it has metastasized to the lymph nodes, it only metastasizes to the lymph nodes around the stomach, not spreading to other areas. This early gastric cancer is targeted for laparoscopic surgery. The surgery can be performed perfectly without major surgical scars on the stomach, with just a few small holes and a small wound to take out the cut stomach.

The large intestine belongs to the digestive system and is located between the small intestine and the anus. About 1.5 meters in length on average, it is divided into, from the right side, cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum. Colon cancer mainly starts from the epithelial cells of the colon and depending on the location of the cancer, if it occurs in the colon, it’s called colon cancer, and if in the rectum, rectal cancer.

In laparoscopic surgery of colorectal cancer, several small holes of 0.5 to 1.5 cm in size are made in the abdomen and a laparoscopic camera and surgical instruments are inserted into them. In addition to resection of the lesion, it is possible to perform complete resection of lymph nodes where cancer cells can spread, as is the case with laparotomy. Compared to conventional laparotomy that leaves a scar of 10 cm or more, there are fewer scars and less pain, resulting in a short recovery period and a quick return to daily life.