Abstract

Recently, quality of life has become a main objective in surgical therapy. Apart from the oncological consequences, the quality of results after gastric carcinoma resection are mainly determined by social and psychological aspects of life, early postoperative complications, and long-term nutritive/functional parameters. Of 338 patients who underwent gastric resection for adenocarcinoma of the stomach, quality of life was assessed in 73 recurrence-free patients by means of the Gastrointestinal Life Quality Index (GLQI). The median age was 71.9 years, and surgery had been carried out at least 1 year prior to the investigation (median follow-up 4.5 years). Patients with subtotal gastric resection displayed significantly higher GLQI scores (120 [97-138] points) than patients with gastrectomy (116 [70-139] points;p=0.047). Among partial parameters of the life quality index, physical functions were significantly better after subtotal resection (p=0.040), while the emotional status (p=0.147) and social activities (p=0.337) did not differ between the two groups. Abdominal symptoms (p=0.081) and the nutritional function (p=0.228) were insignificantly different. The number of meals (4 vs. 5 meals per day) and the loss of weight since surgery (5 vs. 10 kg) were less after subtotal resection than after gastrectomy. However, the latter parameter did not reach statistical significance.